Buttler’s sixth IPL ton eclipses Kohli’s eighth as Royals prolong winning streak

Virat Kohli’s eighth IPL century proved futile as Rajasthan Royals secured a comfortable six-wicket win to extend their winning streak to four wins from four matches at the start of IPL 2024. It was the third occasion when Kohli’s IPL century came in a losing cause as Jos Buttler’s sixth IPL ton – brought off the last ball of the chase – and Sanju Samson’s ebullient half-century helped Royals over the line with five balls to spare at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.

Buttler and Samson dictated the 184-run chase. As the partnership flourished, RCB started looking devoid of ideas. While the two batters brought their cheekiness and dexterity to the fore, they largely targetted the straight boundaries. In 86 balls, they put on a 148-run stand which practically decided the fate of the contest.

With one run needed off the last over, Buttler smoked Green for a six over the deep mid wicket boundary to notch up the landmark and help RR over the line.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 183/3 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 119*, Faf du Plessis 44; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-32, Nandre Burger 1-33) lost to Rajasthan Royals 189/6 in 19.1 overs (Jos Buttler 100*, Sanju Samson 69; Reece Topley 2-27, Mohammed Siraj 1-35) by 6 wickets