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Fate or coincidence? Uncanny similarities between Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli's best IPL seasons, six years apart
Same day, same figures, same result - the similarities between Kohli and Buttler's best IPL seasons are uncanny.
Jos Buttler played a pivotal role in Rajasthan Royals' run to their second final in the Indian Premier League (IPL). With flurry of top knocks, Buttler decimated most opposition attacks, if not all, to keep Rajasthan well in the hunt for their first title win in 14 years. And amid them came the Virat Kohli comparison. With each of his fifty-plus knocks, Kohli's elusive 973 runs record came under threat and while many backed the England batting star to emulate the record, Buttler failed to do it in terms of the figure, but suffered a similar fate as that of Kohli's 2016 run. (Follow IPL 2022 full coverage)
Back in 2016, Kohli has scripted a phenomenal run with his run tally of 973 runs as a captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, guiding his team to the final. His tally included four centuries which remained a record as well - most by an individual in a single season. However, Kohli, who won the Orange Cap that season, failed to take his team through in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad as the David Warner-led side won their maiden title.
Six years later, Buttler's magnificent run with the bat of 863 runs in 17 innings, also laced with four centuries, helped Rajasthan reach the final, but like Kohli, he too failed to take his team home in the summit clash despite winning the Orange Cap.
But the list of similarities do not end there. Both RCB and RR had finished second in their respective season which was topped by a Gujarat team (Gujarat Lions back in 2016) and both played the final on May 29.
“Exceeded all my expectations apart from today - the trophy we really wanted. Disappointed with that. Big congratulations to Hardik and team. Deserving champions. My goals are to play my role for the team and try and react on the day regarding what the game is asking me to do. In good teams you have a lot of trust in everyone. We have huge trust in everyone in our team. Very grateful for the opportunity to play today. Disappointed - that's completely natural. Have lost plenty of finals in my career unfortunately,” Buttler said after picking up the Player of the Tournament award.
