I tried to give the guys belief that if Sunil Narine can go for runs, anybody can go for runs: Rovman Powell

Rovman Powell revealed his thought process behind attacking Sunil Narine in the 17th over of the second innings as Rajasthan Royals (RR) chased down a 224-run target off the last ball against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on April 16.

On the back of Narine's swashbuckling century, the former two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions set a daunting target of 224 for the table toppers. In reply, Jos Buttler carried his bat and finished on 107 not out off 60 balls to help the Royals eke out a memorable win off the last ball. During his knock, England's T20 captain received support from the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (19 off 9), Riyan Parag (34 off 14), and Powell (26 off 13).

When 62 runs were required off the last four overs, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer brought Narine to bowl the final over of his spell. The legendary spinner had conceded just 14 runs and picked up a wicket in the three overs he had bowled before this over. Powell took the attack to him and hit a four followed by two humongous sixes. Narine dismissed Powell off his fifth ball but by then, the latter had already given the Rajasthan innings the much-needed impetus.

After the match, Powell said he tried to take on Narine to give other RR batters the hope that if the seasoned campaigner can go for runs, so can the others.

“In T20 cricket, a lot of people don’t get credit for playing impactful innings. A lot of technology is there that gives data to innings that guys play, but not a lot of data and technology is there to pick up the impact, a 20 off 10 or a 30 off 15. I started by trying to take down Sunil as their main bowler and give the guys the belief that if Sunil can go for runs, then anybody can go for runs. And that fuelled right through the group,” Powell said in the post-match press conference.

Also Read: 'You need to hold the fort' - Harbhajan Singh urges Riyan Parag to learn from Jos Buttler

'Just relax. I will try to hit a few sixes' - Powell reveals what he told Buttler

Powell stitched a crucial 57-run partnership off just 27 balls with Buttler when the latter was finding it hard to connect the big shots. Powell said that he told his partner to not worry because he would go for the big shots instead, and in case he gets out, Buttler can finish it off.

“I was there with Jos and I told him ‘Just relax. I will try to hit a few sixes’ because he was trying to hit the ball but wasn’t connecting. So, I tried to hit the sixes and if I got out, ‘you would take on’ the mantle of trying to scoring those big sixes,” Powell added.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Shah Rukh Khan's inspiring speech to KKR players after tough loss against RR goes viral

KKR would have moved to the top of the table with a win but Rajasthan have managed to keep their stranglehold at the pole position after a batting masterclass from Buttler and Co.