RR put up a gargantuan total of 220/3 in their allotted twenty overs, assisted by a swashbuckling 150-run partnership between the RR-skipper Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler. However, it was Buttler’s innings that panned all eyes.
Buttler smashed a high voltage 124 runs off just 64 deliveries at an extraordinary strike rate of 193.75. These fireworks marked the highest score by any batter in an innings so far in the ongoing IPL as well as this was Taunton-born’s maiden ton in the T20 extravaganza.
Sharing his exaltation after the match, Buttler said that he was happy to score off the middle of the bat and the team director Kumar Sangakkara’s advice to not try to swing too hard, rather keep the shape was what had helped him immensely.
Reflecting on his partnership with Samson, the 30-year-old remarked that the former is a good fit as a batting partner.
“I am feeling good, it was obviously nice to spend some time in the middle. It was nice to get few shots out of the middle of the bat. For some time, I felt like that I did not know which way to hold the bat really, it was a good win for us, happy to contribute. I thought that we are just one wicket down so I might just go for it. There was a nice messsage from Kumar Sangakkara as he told me to keep my shape. I was trying to swing hard for a while. Sanju Samson is a good guy to bat with, he is fun in the middle,” Buttler told teammate Chris Morris in a video posted on the official website of IPL.
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