Languid to Lightning - Jos Buttler reinvents mystique to flip RR's script

Flashback to Eden Gardens on November 11, 2023, when Jos Buttler ended an incomprehensively dismal World Cup campaign by running himself out against Pakistan as England surrendered their title defense.

While they emerged victorious in that outing, the end of an era had already dawned on England's white-ball core after being eliminated from semi-final contention following a series of embarrassing defeats.

Buttler finished the tournament with 138 runs at a horrific average of 15.33 in nine outings. His captaincy was no better as England won only three of their games after being among the pre-tournament favorites.

Cut to the present, Buttler produced arguably his greatest T20 innings at the same Eden Gardens to reinvent his mystique that had long been missing. Yet, the ongoing IPL has been full of roses and thorns for the champion cricketer and the knock against KKR was a carbon copy.

After a mediocre 2023 IPL season was followed by England's horror show in white-ball cricket under his leadership, Buttler came into IPL 2024 with the weight of the cricketing world on his shoulders. And three low scores later, the pressure accentuated with fans and experts questioning his aura as a T20 giant.

Then came the response that silenced critics temporarily when he produced a magical unbeaten 100 off 58 balls in a memorable run-chase against RCB. However, Buttler was undone by his nemesis Rashid Khan in the next outing and missed the following game due to an injury.

However, he returned for the top-of-the-table clash against KKR and put to bed any skepticism about his mortality in the shortest format of the game.

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Jos Buttler channels inner 'Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni' under duress to rewrite destiny

Jos Buttler's seventh IPL century was unlike most of his other innings that have a mark of authority and inevitability from the get-go.

Against Kolkata, the 33-year-old was faced with an uphill task of chasing 224 in a battle to silence a raucous crowd at Eden Gardens. To further complicate matters, the RR opener lost the usually reliable Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson inside the first five over with less than a quarter of the target conquered.

Batting on a laborious 42 off 33 as his team sunk to 128/6 in 14 overs, Buttler seemed to have lost the invincibility that made him arguably the most feared T20 batter. Yet, there was a computer at work, similar to how Indian stalwarts MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli orchestrate improbable run-chases.

Buttler summed his unwavering belief when he was all at sea for a majority of his innings at the post-match presentation, saying:

"Keep believing, that was the real key today. At times, felt like I was struggling a bit for rhythm. Anytime the negative thoughts come, I think the complete opposite and dare to dream. That's what kept me going. At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself. I was trying to tell myself it'd be 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, you've seen it so many times in the IPL and I was trying to do the same. That's something Kumar Sangakkara has told me a lot - there's always a little breaking point," he added.

And the breaking point, as Buttler mentioned, finally arrived in the 15th over of the chase with RR requiring a near-insurmountable 96 off 36 deliveries. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter used his 400+ games of T20 experience to surgically slither through KKR hearts.

Buttler turned to his revere-stance innovations to smash an in-form and dangerous-looking Varun Chakaravarthy for four boundaries to bring the equation down to 79 off 30. The English white-ball captain found the perfect ally in West Indian big-hitter Rovman Powell, who scored a pivotal 13-ball 26.

And Buttler said 'Thank You Very Much' and single-handedly took over matters from that point on, with 46 needed off the final three overs.

He blasted three maximums and two boundaries off the next two overs from pacers Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana, while shepherding the tail to set up a last-over duel with Chakaravarthy.

With only two wickets in hand, it was crystal clear that Buttler was going to farm the strike and deal only in even numbers. At nine off the last over to win, the Rajasthan opener knew victory was very much in sight and he butchered the first ball over long-on for a maximum to complete a sensational century.

After a few nervy moments, Buttler eventually completed a seemingly improbable task off the final ball, finishing on 107* off 60 deliveries. Scoring 65 off his last 27 balls, the champion batter proved once and for all about his pedigree to overcome all possible hurdles. He even battled fatigue and some fitness issues towards the end of his stint but remained relentless in his pursuit of glory.

It was Buttler's seventh IPL century as he leapfrogged Chris Gayle to find himself second to only Virat Kohli's eight. Yet, his impact extends beyond just that. All seven of his IPL centuries have resulted in victories.

It was also the joint-highest total successfully chased in IPL history and it is only fitting that a batter of Buttler's caliber and versatility pulls off such a miracle. With two three-figure scores in his last three innings, he is well on his way towards an IPL 2022-esque season, where he scored an incredible 863 runs.

RR made the final then and Buttler will hope he can do one better in helping the franchise lift a second IPL trophy.

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How Buttler's heroics masked RR's otherwise mistake-laden outing

The Royals must remember at all times the famous one-liner, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' after the KKR encounter.

Thanks to Jos Buttler's heroics, the side was lucky to escape from an array of self-inflicted mistakes throughout the game. For starters, why RR did not play left-arm pacer Nandre Burger in the starting XI remains a question mark.

Burger was fully fit, having recovered from an injury that kept him out for the two games before the KKR clash, as confirmed by head coach Kumar Sangakkara during his interview with the on-air broadcasters.

RR built their early success in the tournament by having six bowling options and bowling the entire powerplay or at least the first five overs with the left-arm pace duo of Burger and Trent Boult.

Burger's height and Test-match lengths could have been just what the doctor ordered as Sunil Narine was blazing away to his maiden T20 century. It also did not help that almost all the five specialist bowlers traveled around the park, especially the two world-class spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Further baffling was Ashwin's wide outside off-stump line and high speeds to Narine for the majority of his spell. Here is a man who just achieved the incredible 500-wicket mark in Tests. To watch him resort to such a defensive ploy against the West Indian, instead of at least trying to slow the pace down and bowl a few stock deliveries made for surprising viewing.

And to further dig their own grave, RR sent Ashwin out to bat at No.6 with the score on 100/4 in the nith over, while still having renowned T20 batters Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell in the shed.

The Tamil Nadu cricketer scored a painstaking 11-ball eight to completely stall the innings and put the run chase almost out of reach.

Yet, Buttler erased all these with his extraordinary display and made RR fans breathe easy and say 'All is well that ends well'. Sitting pretty at the top of the table with six wins in seven outings, Rajasthan must guard against complacency and such blatant errors if they are to avoid a late-season collapse similar to IPL 2023.