IPL 2022, DC vs RR: Jos Buttler's third ton of season gives Rajasthan Royals 15-run win over Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals

Jos Buttler has chosen this IPL to scream to the world that he is on top of the pile of best T20 batters in the world. With a straight face and murder in his eyes, Buttler is on the loose, wielding his bat like a sledgehammer to open up bowling attacks across venues in Mumbai. His latest victim was the Delhi Capitals bowling attack as he brought up his third century of the season to help Rajasthan post a daunting 222/2 at the Wankhede stadium on Friday night. Buttler’s knock of 116 off 65 balls must have left a few dizzy heads in the Capitals dugout. It was enough to put the game beyond Capitals’ reach, never mind the dash towards the target through cameos from David Warner (28 off 14), Rishabh Pant (44 off 24), Lalit Yadav (37 off 24) and Rovman Powell (36 off 15).

Ugly scenes mar end of game Needing 36 off the last over, Powell hit three sixes off the first three balls before skipper Rishabh Pant cotroversially halted the game after the third six, asking for a referral to check a no-ball for height. The game was halted for a few minutes and after a lot of confusion, the game resumed. The momentum, however, had swung, and Capitals fell short by 15 runs. The two Royals spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (1/28) and R Ashwin (2/32), along with the sharp pace of Prasidh Krishna (3/22), who bowled a wicket maiden in the 19th over, proved to be the difference.

Buttler’s brilliance For most part of the powerplay, it seemed Capitals had Buttler under check. With a few streaky boundaries and striking at under 100 till the fifth over, Buttler decided to cut loose in the sixth, dispatching Khaleel Ahmed for a couple of sixes over the deep mid-wicket fence. What followed was 15 overs of marauding batting.

Buttler’s force was so