Buttler's Brilliance Overshadows Kohli's Heroics: Royals Dominate RCB
Jos Buttler's Unbeaten Century Guides Rajasthan Royals to Victory Against Royal Challengers Bangalore
With his third century in his previous seven IPL innings, Virat Kohli stole the show. But at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson (69 off 42 balls) and opener Jos Buttler (100 not out off 58 balls) orchestrated a seamless demolition of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru attack, guiding their side to a comfortable six-wicket victory.
The Royals secured their fourth consecutive victory to take the top spot in the rankings with eight points, negating Kohli's undefeated 113 off 72 balls. With four losses under their belt, RCB is currently at No. 8.
Even with Kohli's innings, RCB could only muster 183/3. Although it was a competitive score, RCB would undoubtedly feel that they were short of the mark by ten or fifteen runs.
The Royals' run chase was unaffected in the slightest by Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal off Reece Topley on the second ball of the reply, as captain Samson and Buttler expertly exploited the dew effect and were at their steady best. It made things simpler for Samson and Buttler since RCB was already thin on spin, particularly on a pitch where the bowl did grip a little bit.
The captain of England did appear unimpressive over the first three matches. He took a little while to find his rhythm on Saturday as well. However, he started by concentrating on playing the ball with gentle hands and finding the spaces, applying his knowledge. It was then time for the "Jos the Boss" show once he completed that.
After getting back into form, Buttler eventually smashed a century. The Royals needed only one run off the final six balls, and he did so in style with a lift off Cameron Green over mid-wicket for his fourth maximum. Indeed, Buttler's century outclassed Kohli's.
Kohli finished with a strike rate of 156.94, which wasn't too awful. However, Buttler's (172.41) was significantly better.
Earlier, the fact that the RCB chose not to send Dinesh Karthik to bat at all was rather perplexing. Karthik has performed admirably in his job as a finisher thus far this season. The veteran keeper-batter could have done a lot better in terms of relieving pressure on Kohli in the last overs if he had been brought in after Glenn Maxwell's departure in the fifteenth over, rather than Saurav Chauhan, who was the debutant, and Cameron Green, who came in at the fall of the third wicket.
In those boring overs, RCB needed a cameo, and Karthik could deliver one.
The Royals will also thank their spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yiuzvendra Chahal, for applying the breaks on RCB's progress after captain Faf du Plessis and captain Kohli punished left-arm pacers Trent Boult and Nandre Burger. The Royals are wearing pink jerseys in support of their Pink Promise campaign, which aims to increase the team's support for the empowered women from rural Rajasthan.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
