On Saturday, the Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets thanks to an unbeaten century from Jos Butler, who eclipsed Virat Kohli's opening IPL century (6).
In his 100th IPL encounter, Butler got his century off 58 balls with a six when Rajasthan needed one to win their pursuit of 184, with five balls remaining in the Jaipur match.
After scoring 35 runs in his previous three games, Butler found his form. He and captain Sanju Samson put up 148 runs for the second wicket, with Samson making 69.
Butler spoke of his winning smash over the deep mid-wicket fence, "Had a little bit of luck, did not time it well, just got over the rope, delighted with the win."
No matter how long you've spent playing the game, those tensions and worries persist. The mind is a powerful tool; all you need to do is persevere, work hard, and sometimes good fortune will find you.
Earlier, Kohli scored an undefeated 113 to lead Bengaluru to 183-3 after reaching his ninth IPL century in 67 balls, the highest by any batter.
However, his efforts were in vain as the first-time winners, Rajasthan, secured the top spot in the 10-team table with four wins, keeping them undefeated throughout the season, ahead of second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders, who have won three games in a row.
After getting off to a poor start, Butler—who, along with Chris Gayle, now has six tons in the IPL—blasted Mayank Dagar for three fours and a six in a 20-run sixth over, setting up the chase.
After Buttler came in to replace Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was out on the second ball of the innings, Samson also assumed responsibility for the opposition's assault.
At their home stadium, Samson and Butler captivated the audience with their beautiful strokeplay, hitting 16 fours and five sixes between them.
After Samson left, Rajasthan faltered a little and lost two more wickets, but Butler and Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 11 off six, held strong.
After reaching the three-figure mark with a single off Nandre Burger, Kohli, 35, hit his first century of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League. He then removed his helmet and lifted his bat in front of the applauding audience.
"I want to keep the bowler guessing; I don't want to be too aggressive." They want me to leave quickly and hard," Kohli remarked.
It just takes maturity and experience. I prepare the game and play the conditions.
As he and captain Faf du Plessis put on an opening stand of 125 runs, with the latter hitting 44, to create the groundwork for the total, Kohli struck his third fifty-plus score of the season.
With a six off 39 balls, Kohli scored his half-century by smashing Riyan Parag below the belt.
Yuzvendra Chahal gave a catch to long-on and Du Plessis fell. To check the surge, Burger shortly bowled Glenn Maxwell for one.
Throughout his 72-ball innings, which included three fours in the last over, Kohli remained resolute and responded with four sixes.
With 316 runs in five games, the former captain of India solidified his place atop the batting table this year.
With Bengaluru, Kohli is still searching for his first IPL victory.
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