Buttler’s flaming 100 spoils Kohli’s party

Rajasthan Royals' batter Jos Buttler rediscovered his form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the England white-ball captain fired an unbeaten 58-ball century to steer his side to a six-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.  

Buttler, who before this game had managed just 35 runs in three matches this season, was aided by Sanju Samson's 69 off 42 balls, and hence Rajasthan, despite losing Yashasvi Jaiswal for naught in the innings' second ball, chased down RCB's 183 for five with five deliveries in the bank. He reached his ton with a six in his 100th IPL match when Rajasthan needed one for victory.

Buttler's brilliant knock featured nine fours and four sixes, justifying his reputation as one of the most aggressive batters in the modern game. The 33-year-old was the IPL's Most Valuable Player in 2022 but had a forgettable outing in 2023.

The England batter-keeper started slowly before he hammered Mayank Dagar for three fours and a six in a 20-run sixth over to set up the chase. Skipper Samson also took on the opposition attack. He and Buttler put on 148 runs for the second wicket.

Earlier, Virat Kohli struck the first century of this IPL season, his eighth IPL ton, in 67 balls and finished on an unbeaten 113 after Bengaluru were invited to bat first.

Kohli hit his third fifty-plus of this season as he put on an opening stand of 125 with skipper Faf du Plessis, who hit 44, to lay the foundations for the total.

Du Plessis fell to Yuzvendra Chahal as he gave a catch to long-on. Burger soon bowled Glenn Maxwell for one to check the surge.

Kohli stood firm and hit back as he finished with 12 fours, including three in the final over, and four sixes in his 72-ball knock.

The former India captain consolidated his position at the top of this year's batting chart with 316 runs in five matches.

Kohli still awaits his first IPL title with Bengaluru, who lie eighth in the 10-team table with four losses and one win. Rajasthan, meanwhile, sit pretty at the top of the table with four wins in four matches, ahead of second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders who have three wins in as many matches.