Jos Buttler on Saturday notched up the first ton of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) as he ticked off the three-figure mark in just 66 balls against Mumbai Indians. The Rajasthan Royals star was in brilliant touch at the DY Patil Stadium to hammer 11 fours and five maximums en route to the milestone and lay the foundation of a hefty 193-run total. (Follow IPL 2022, MI vs RR Live Score)
Put in to bat first, the Royals relied heavily on Buttler's ton and Shimron Hetmyer's blistering 14-ball 35. Buttler, who reached the milestone in the 19th over, became only the second England player to score two hundreds in the lucrative T20 league. Kevin Pietersen and Jonny Bairstow are the remaining two English players to have an IPL century under their belt.
Buttler's first ton had come in the 2021 edition against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He had blasted a magnificent 124 off just 64 deliveries at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi.
The 31-year-old Buttler enjoyed a brisk start against the five-time champions as he pummelled 26 runs in the fourth over bowled by Basil Thampi. He continued his free-flowing stroke-play to reach his fifty in just 32 balls. He further hammered Murugan Ashwin for two sixes and a four in the 11th over as the fall of two early wickets did not chip the Royals' run-flow.
Buttler eventually perished against Jasprit Bumrah in the penultimate over. He is now a part of the elite list of overseas batters to score two or more centuries in the IPL.
{{/usCountry}}Buttler eventually perished against Jasprit Bumrah in the penultimate over. He is now a part of the elite list of overseas batters to score two or more centuries in the IPL.
{{/usCountry}}Jasprit Bumrah (3/17) was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai Indians, who seemed listless against the Buttler-Hetmyer show. Hetymyer's whirlwind and Samson's 30-run cameo were the perfect support roles.
Shane Watson was previously the only player to score two tons in Rajasthan jersey. Stokes' one hundred came for Rajasthan while the other came in Rising Pune Supergiants' shirt.
Overseas batters with 2 (or) more centuries in IPL:
Chris Gayle
Adam Gilchrist
David Warner
Shane Watson
AB de Villiers
Brendon McCullum
Ben Stokes
Hashim Amla
Jos Buttler*
With his splendid ton, Buttler has also got hold of the Orange Cap with 135 runs in the first two IPL games. He had scored 35 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in his last match.
"Obviously a great feeling and nice to contribute. I'm a bit nervous as it is hard to tell if it is a good score or not with the short boundary one side. Mumbai always attack me with Bumrah, he's one of the best bowlers in the world and I find him hard to attack," said Buttler in the innings break.
"I got frustrated towards the end as I slowed down, I couldn't get the ball away as I would have liked and that's why I feel we could have got a few more. But we would have taken 194 at the start," he added.