Opener's 100* helps Royals chase down 184 with ease as RCB star's 113* goes in vain
JAIPUR: Leaving behind the disappointment of the previous three outings,
Jos Buttler
was back in business on Saturday as he ripped through the unheralded RCB bowling attack with a dominant, unbeaten 100 off 58 balls to help Rajasthan Royals cruise to a six-wicket victory at the SMS Stadium.
The onslaught by Buttler not only overshadowed, but also dampened the excitement around
Virat Kohli
's unbeaten 113 off 72 balls earlier. This was Kohli's first century against the Royals and also his first at this venue.
This was Buttler's 100th IPL game and he made it memorable by hitting his sixth IPL century, bringing up the mark with a six over mid-wicket off Cameron Green when Royals needed only 1 run to finish the proceedings.
With this win, Royals have extended their unbeaten streak with four wins in as many games.
Chasing 184, the hosts always looked in control despite losing
Yashasvi Jaiswal
early. The partnership of 148 between Buttler and Samson (69 off 42 balls) was broken by Mohammed Siraj in the 15th over, but by that time the damage was done and Royals only needed 35 to seal the game.
Earlier, Kohli played both anchor and aggressor as he brought up his eighth IPL century. After being sent in to bat, Kohli looked at ease from the outset. Blitzing 12 fours and 4 sixes, he treated the spectators to a wide range of shots.
At the other end was RCB captain Faf Du Plessis, who took his time before joining Kohli in taking on the bowlers. His knock of 44 off 33 balls included a couple of stunning sixes off Trent Boult.
It was
Yuzvendra Chahal
who brought the first breakthrough as the RCB skipper holed out at long-on to Buttler. The opening duo's 125-run partnership came to a halt in the 14th over. It was the first time that RCB did not lose a wicket in the Powerplay, a period in which they notched up 53 runs.
Kohli and Du Plessis kept plugging the singles and waited for the loose deliveries.
Nandre Burger's economy rate took a beating as he gave away 26 runs in two Powerplay overs. With not much swing on offer, Boult looked off-colour.
Royals captain
Sanju Samson
's desperation to get a wick et in the first six overs drove him to bowl Avesh Khan in the Powerplay for the first time this season, but the move did not pay off.
The kind of mood Kohli was in, he greeted Avesh with a boundary through point. But Kohli lacked support at the other end and his century was eventually in a losing cause.
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