Jos Buttler is proving to be unstoppable in the IPL.
After a dream season last year, Buttler started off in the same vein, with a whirlwind half-century which set the tone for Rajasthan Royals' emphatic 72 run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, April 2, 2023.
Buttler blasted 54 from 22 balls, with three sixes and seven boundaries.
It was young Yashasvi Jaiswal, who started off positively, hitting three boundaries in the first two overs before Buttler took over.
His first boundary was a sweetly-timed flick off Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the ball carried a long way over midwicket for a six. He was severe on spinner Washington Sundar, welcoming him to the crease with back to back sixes as Royals raced past 50, in the fourth over.
Left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan suffered at the hands of the England opener, who carted him for four boundaries in the fifth over.
It was raining boundaries at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium in Hyderabad as Butter kept up his attack against Afghanistan's left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi with a couple of boundaries, to race to his half-century from just 20 balls.
Sunrisers bowlers looked completely clueless against Buttler's blazing bat as he drove Farooqi for another four through the off-side.
Farooqi brought the hosts some relief as he came up with a superb delivery to bowl Buttler, beating him with a length delivery which jagged in enough to beat the bat and crash into the stumps.
Buttler's attack ensured that Royals amassed 85 runs in the first six overs of Powerplay -- their highest ever.
Even though Sunrisers bowlers pulled back things in the final overs, Royals finished on a huge 203/5, which RR defended quite easily as SRH could only manage 131/8.
