Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reserved high praise for England’s limited-overs skipper and Rajasthan Royals opener, Jos Buttler, following his sensational ton that carried the table-toppers across the line in a thrilling last-ball chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders. In, perhaps, the most absorbing clash in the ongoing IPL season, the Royals chased down the joint-highest total in the history of the tournament at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Departing, for once, from his typical slam-bang approach, Buttler chose to settle in and grow into his innings while keeping his team at par with the asking rate. However, after the dismissal of Rovman Powell, who thrilled the full house at Eden with his power-hitting in a useful cameo, Buttler chose to open out sensing he was running out of partners.
Till the 11th over of the Royals’ innings, Buttler scored at a strike rate of 132 but in the next nine overs, he shifted gears and finished off the chase with an unbeaten 107 at a strike rate of 178.33.
With the league leaders needing to go hell for leather, needing 46 runs off just 18 deliveries, Buttler smacked four towering sixes and two boundaries to enable the Royals to pull off a heist.
In a match where the momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum, the 33-year-old Englishman produced a knock for the ages, wowing not just the RR fans but former India spinner Harbhajan as well.
“He is a special player. He is a player of a different level. Jos Buttler hasn’t done this for the first time. He has done this many times and we will see him doing this job many times going forward as well. He is an incredible player. We don’t talk much about him because he is not an Indian player,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
“If Virat Kohli had scored this century, we would have sung his praises for two months, just like we talk about MS Dhoni’s four (three) sixes. We should celebrate him just like we celebrate our players because he is also one of the legends of the game,” the former India spinner added.
(With ANI Inputs)
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