Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler jumped high and pumped his fists after completing his century against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Qualifier 2 here on Friday.
Buttler delivered on the big occasion, with his knock guiding Rajasthan to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory in this knockout fixture.
Buttler’s plentiful returns have been crucial to Rajasthan’s progress to the final. The English batter has four centuries this season, equalling Virat Kohli’s 2016 record of most centuries in an IPL edition.
Buttler goes at a hectic pace in the PowerPlay, which effectively deflates opponents early. With 824 runs this year, he is the undisputed Orange Cap holder, over 200 runs ahead of nearest rival K.L. Rahul.
Excited
“I was very excited to play in the stadium with 1,00,000 people. The atmosphere was amazing. After two years of playing in empty stadiums… this is what IPL is all about. I was so excited after getting my hundred, I could not control it,” Buttler said in an iplt20.com video.
The 31-year-old is primed to come good on the grand stage — the final against Gujarat Titans here on Sunday.
Buttler overcame a brief stutter towards the end of the group stage matches, when he was dismissed for three single-digit scores on the trot.
Conversations with Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara lifted Buttler out of the mini-slump.
In the post-match media interaction on Friday, Sangakkara rated Buttler’s performance very high.
“Jos had a bit of flutter recently, but he calmed himself down and had good conversations with us.
“He can accelerate at any point, and he has all the strokes. He understands the game very well. I can’t remember anyone else batting this well in the history of the IPL,” Sangakkara said.
