Jos Buttler scored 106 not out in Rajasthan Royals' win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. This was his fourth century in IPL 2022.
It was a Jos Buttler show on Friday night in IPL 2022 as Rajasthan Royals marched into the final of the 15th edition with a seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The 2008 champions entered the final of IPL after 14 years while Buttler shone with his fourth century of the season.
After Prasidh Krishna’s 3/22 helped RR restrict RCB to 157/8, Buttler’s swashbuckling 106 not out off 60 balls kept the Faf du Plessis-led side at bay since the start of the second innings. His dominating knock was laced with 10 fours and 6 sixes as RR reached home with 11 balls to spare.
The century for Buttler means he now jointly shares the record with Virat Kohli for scoring most centuries in a single IPL season. Kohli had scored four centuries in the 2016 edition of IPL in which he amassed a record 973 runs.
When Rajasthan Royals will be facing Gujarat Tians in the final of IPL 2022 on Sunday night, Jos Buttler will be having a great opportunity to surpass Virat Kohli and get his name etched in the history books by becoming the first player to hit five centuries in a single edition of IPL. What Buttler needs is to score another ton in the night of the final.
Buttler has a sensational record against IPL newbies Gujarat Titans. He has scored two fifties against the side in as many games this season. In overall, he has scored 149 runs against the team at an average of 71.5. Meanwhile, his strike rate against them is 186.25.
The stats clearly reflect that Jos Buttler has a liking for the Hardik Pandya-led side. Neither pace nor spin is a problem for him, but what may stop Buttler from registering another hundred is the fact that he is a team player, who never shies away from playing risky shots to provide quick starts to his side. Hence, the length of his innings on Sunday night will also depend on how his fellow opener Yashavi Jaiswal and number three batsman Sanju Samson perform. Samson’s crucial cameos have played a huge role in helping Buttler take his innings deep this season.
Talking about Buttler’s stats so far in IPL 2022, he has scored 824 runs across 16 matches at an average of 58.85. His highest score in the season is 116 while his strike rate is 151.47. Besides four centuries, Buttler has also hit four half-centuries this season.
No doubt Jos Buttler has been sensational with the bat but IPL 2022 is not over yet and Rajasthan Royals will be needing their run machine for one final time on Sunday against Gujarat Titans, a team that they are yet to defeat.