Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Jos Buttler on Tuesday said he never lost self belief during his match-winning hundred against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL 2024 match here and took a leaf out of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli’s books on how to achieve targets from adverse situations.
Buttler, who missed RR’s last game against Punjab Kings due to an injury, single-handedly pulled off IPL’s biggest chase while overwhelming KKR’s 223 for 6 in the last ball of the match, remaining unbeaten on 107 off 60 balls.
He was struggling to even walk towards the end but didn’t give up.
ALSO CHECK | IPL 2024 Points Table updated after KKR vs RR: Rajasthan Royals cements top spot
“Keep believing, that was the real key today. I was struggling a bit for rhythm. At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself. I tell myself it’s okay, keep going, you’ll get your rhythm back and try to stay calm.
“There’s been plenty of times throughout the IPL, you’ve seen crazy things happen. Guys like Dhoni and Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing and I tried to do the same,” Buttler said at the post-match presentation.
The Englishman also credited RR’s director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara for enhancing his self belief.
“That’s something Sanagakkara has told me a lot - there’s always a breaking point,” he said.
“The worse thing you can do is to not fight and give your wicket away. He (Sangakkara) just tells me to stay there and at some point, the momentum will change. That’s been a big part of my play over the last few years.”
He termed Tuesday’s knock as his best IPL innings. “I would think so (best IPL innings). Very satisfying.” RR skipper Sanju Samson said Buttler is a special player and when he is on song, no target is safe.
“Very happy with the win. We were wondering like the wickets we lost. Rovman (Powell) hit a couple of sixes and that’s when we felt like we were in the game. Some luck also, they also played really well. The quality of spin they had, they bowled really well. This ground suited them.
“Jos (Buttler) did what he does for us in the last 6-7 years, so happy for him. It (Buttler’s knock) should go right on top. Being an opener, if he gets in, no runs are unchaseable. He does something special,” he said.
Comments
SHARE