Jos Buttler stormed back to form with a blistering century, his maiden IPL ton, laced with eight sixes and eleven fours as Rajasthan Royals posted an ominous 220/3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday in New Delhi.
Skipper Sanju Samson supported Buttler for a majority of the innings, chipping in with a brisk 48 as RR cruised to the solid total.
Having opted to field first, SRH dealt an early blow as leggie Rashid Khan, introduced into the attack in the third over, trapped Yashasvi Jaiswal plumb in front.
Sanju Samson, who got off the mark with a sweetly-timed six over mid-wicket, joined forces with Jos Buttler to stitch a 100-run stand. However, both batsmen were reprieved once, with Vijay Shankar misjudging Buttler’s hoick at long-on while Manish Pandey, among the safest pair of hands in the world, shelling a sitter to let Samson away.
SRH paid the price for their poor groundwork as Buttler raced to a 39-ball fifty, unfurling his full range of shots from the trademark scoop to the short-arm jabs over cow corner. Rashid Khan was the only one to escape punishment, finishing his quota with an excellent economy of four, as SRH buckled under Buttler's onslaught.
Samson fell two shy of a half-century, miscuing a half-volley to long-off, where Abdul Samad held his nerve to complete a smart catch. But there was none stopping Buttler, who notched up his first century in the league history before taking Sandeep Sharma to the cleaners in the 19th over. The penultimate over reaped 24, although Buttler dragged on the final delivery to depart for a handsome 124.
David Miller then planted the icing on the cake, hoisting Vijay Shankar over covers to cap off a power-packed batting display from the Royals.
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