IPL 2022: [Watch] Jos Buttler reaches his 2nd hundred with a monstrous six
Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jos Buttler has once again proved why he is currently the best T20 opener in world cricket. The Englishman smashed 103 off just 62 balls, his third IPL hundred and second of the season, to lead RR to the highest score of IPL 2022 - 217-5 - against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mumbai on Monday (18 April).
He reached the landmark in fitting fashion too. KKR pacer Pat Cummins delivered a loose full-toss on the stumps and Buttler disdainfully went through with the swing to hit a 90-meter six towards long-on. He soaked the applause of his teammates and the Brabourne Stadium crowd by removing his helmet and raising both arms.
Here's a video of the same:
It was a typical innings from the 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batter. He started looking a bit jittery against the off-stump line being bowled by the KKR bowlers, but picked up the pace bit by bit. Once in his groove, the Englishman hit nine boundaries and five sixes, mostly perfectly-timed stand-and-deliver ones in the straight 'V'. He ended up with a strike rate of 168.85.
He was dismissed just two deliveries after reaching his hundred. Cummins bowled a short ball at his body and he could only top-edge it to Varun Chakravarthy at the fine-leg boundary. But the damage was already done, with the scoreboard reading 183-3 after 16.4 overs. Shimron Hetmyer then applied the finishing touches with his 13-ball 26.
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Jos Buttler takes massive lead in IPL 2022 Orange Cap race
If you do it once, you're great.
If you do it twice, you're Jos Buttler. 💗 https://t.co/2Yb1EJtqrA
The century made the RR opener the first batter to breach the 300-run mark in IPL 2022. His tally now reads 375 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 156.90.
He was donning the Orange Cap even before the match but now has a massive 140-run lead over second-placed KL Rahul, with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper having amassed 235 runs after six games.