Hetmyer turns spectator to Buttler brilliance

JOS BUTTLER (100* off 58) and Sanju Samson (69 off 42) set the stage on fire in Jaipur with sparkling knocks as Rajasthan Royals (RR) made it four wins in a row by beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur yesterday.

Buttler and Samson helped RR recover from the early loss of Yashasvi Jaiswal with a fantastic 148-run stand, as they unfurled a range of exquisite strokes to power the home side to a six-wicket win. Buttler made the occasion of his 100th IPL match more special by bringing up his 100 and finishing off the match in style with a six.

Earlier, a cracking eighth IPL century by Virat Kohli helped RCB post 183/3. Kohli put on an exhibition in elegance, timing and placement to score 113* (72), adding 125 runs with Faf du Plessis (44 off 33) for the opening wicket, to help the visitors post a competitive total.

Chasing 184, Rajasthan Royals were jolted early as Reece Topley struck off the second ball of the innings to dismiss Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Captain Samson and Buttler then got together and mixed caution with aggression to steady the ship. Buttler upped the ante in the final over of the Powerplay, smashing 4,4,6,4 off Mayank Dagar to take RR to 54/1 at the end of six overs.

The pair kept chipping away at 10 runs an over as Buttler brought up his first 50 of the season, off 30 balls, and RR reached 95/1 at the halfway mark. Samson then went after Dagar, smashing a couple of fours and a six to bring up his 50 in style, off 33 balls. The duo kept milking runs at ease and added 148 runs off 86 balls before Mohd. Siraj finally provided the breakthrough, having Samson caught at deep backward square leg on 69(42).

Samson and Buttler had put RR in a strong position by then, with 36 needed off 32 balls. But that Samson wicket provided a ray of hope for RCB as they dismissed the in-form Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel cheaply.

However, Buttler remained calm and, with 20 needed off 21, he, along with Shimron Hetmyer, took RR past the finish line with five balls to spare as Buttler, on 94, hit a six with one needed to win to bring up his 100 and finish off the match in style.

Buttler remained unbeaten on 100 while Hetmyer remained not out on 11(6).

– iplt20.com