Jos Buttler tons to Virat Kohli ducks: The hits and misses of IPL 2022 so far

Indian Premier League (IPL) has passed the half-way mark after a month of high-octane action in the world's richest Twenty20 cricket tournament. AFP Sport looks at five talking points from the first half of the season. Jos Buttlerhas smiled his way to the top of this season's batting chart with three sparkling centuries for Rajasthan Royals.

(Photo: PTI/BCCI/IPL)The softly-spoken Englishman has been a bowler's nightmare with 491 runs in seven matches to take Royals into the top four of the 10-team table. His latest 65-ball knock of 116 against Delhi Capitals puts him in with a chance of chasing Virat Kohli's 2016 record of 973 runs in a season. "Jos has a cheat code for batting," England fast bowler Jofra Archer tweeted. The former India captain and national superstar Virat Kohli has been struggling with the worst slump of his stellar career after two successive golden ducks for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

(Photo: Twitter)Kohli has managed just 119 runs from eight matches, following his lacklustre recent form for his country with the prolific run scorer unable to manage an international century for more than two years. Disbelief after dismissal, a wry smile and a dejected walk back to the pavilion have been familiar sights for "King Kohli" this IPL season. Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said it is "anxiety" to get going that is playing on the star batsman's mind. Mumbai Indians and defending champions Chennai Super Kings have won nine of the 14 IPL titles since the league was launched.

(Photo: MI Twitter)But the powerhouse teams are languishing at the bottom of the standings with Mumbai winless and Chennai managing just two victories from eight. Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma, who has made just 153 runs, blamed his