Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler brought up his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) century and forged a 150-run partnership with skipper Sanju Samson to fire his side to a mammoth 220-run total against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. 

The Royals are seventh in the points table and failures at the top of the order have been a big reason for their losses this season. Prior to this game, just once did one of Rajasthan’s top three batsmen cross the 50-run mark – when skipper Sanju Samson scored 119 in their opening encounter against the Punjab Kings. 

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Butter has struggled to find his explosive best this season, with his inconsistance apparent in his three single-digit innings out of six. However, the Englishman responded to his critics emphatically, notching his first 50+ score of the season. His highest score this season prior to this innings was 49, which he scored against the Chennai Super Kings.

After losing the toss and put in to bat, Rajasthan lost young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the third over with the score at 17. But Buttler and Samson dug in for a big partnership, scoring 150 runs in the next 82 deliveries to put the Royals in a commanding position. 

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Buttler brought up his fifty in 39 deliveries and accelerated from there, bringing up his next fifty just 15 deliveries. The Englishman ended the innings having scored 124 runs from 64 balls, at a strike rate of 193.75. Buttler smashed 11 boundaries and eight sixes in his innings. 

Meanwhile, Samson fell just short of his 14th IPL fifty, when he picked out Abdul Samad at long-off with a mistimed shot. His 33-ball, 48-run knock included four boundaries and two sixes. 

Rajasthan Royals are eyeing their third win of the season, which will put them level on points with the Punjab Kings.