Jos Buttler slams third century of IPL 2022, Twitterati hail 'freak show' from Rajasthan Royals opener

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Mumbai, Apr 22: Explosive England batsman Jos Buttler notched up his third century in the ongoing IPL 2022 to power Rajasthan Royals to a massive 222 for 2, the highest team total of the season, against Delhi Capitals here on Friday (April 22).

Buttler, who is enjoying the form of his life, smashed 116 off 65 balls with the help of nine boundaries and as many hits over the fence to lay the foundation of the imposing total in the company of his opening partner Devdutt Padikkal, who hit 54 off 35 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

DC skipper Rishabh Pant's decision to field first backfired big time as the duo of Buttler and Padikkal struck 155 runs in 15.5 overs for the opening stand. It was the highest opening stand for RR in their IPL history.

Buttler paced his innings brilliantly as the in-form swashbuckler started slowly before picking up the pace and started dealing in fours and sixes against Delhi's spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel to bring up his fifty in 36 balls. After getting to his fifty, Buttler looked in ominous form and pummelled the Delhi bowlers at will.

High on confidence after two centuries in the ongoing edition of the IPL, Buttler continued his onslaught, smacking in-form Kuldeep Yadav for two maximums in consecutive balls and a four in the 15th over. Power-hitting was at its best display as Buttler, in particular, treated all the DC bowlers with disdain.

Padikkal soon perished, caught plumb in front of the wicket by Khaleel Ahmed in the 116th over as DC got their first breakthrough, albeit late in the innings. Buttler finally got out in the penultimate over, holing out to David Warner at long-on off Mutafizur Rahman.

Towards the end, skipper Sanju Samson (46 not out off 19 balls) played a little cameo to help RR cross the 200-run mark and register the highest score of the season.

Watching Buttler's freak show, experts hailed the Englishman for his blitzkrieg at Wankhede Stadium and here's what they said: