England man thumps seven sixes in knock of 89 from 43 balls
Saturday 13 April 2019 19:16, UK
Jos Buttler's 89 from 43 balls helped Rajasthan Royals to a four-wicket victory over his former side Mumbai Indians in Saturday's IPL match at Wankhede Stadium.
The England vice-captain followed his 69 against Kings XI Punjab - an innings which ended when he was Mankaded by Ravichandran Ashwin - and 59 against Royal Challengers Bangalore with a third fifty of the season as Royals reached their target of 188 with three balls to spare after overcoming a wobble that saw them lose 4-4 in nine deliveries.
Buttler brought up his ninth IPL fifty from 29 balls, and after thumping Windies quick Alzarri Joseph for six boundaries in the 13th over - a pair of sixes sandwiching four fours - he looked on course for maiden T20 century against the team he represented in 2016 and 2017.
However, the 28-year-old holed out to long-off attempting a seventh straight boundary, this time off Rahul Chahar, and returned to the dressing room having cracked seven sixes and eight fours.
Buttler's highest T20 score, either internationally or domestically, remains the 95 not out he struck for Royals against Chennai Super Kings in last year's IPL fixture in Jaipur.
Lancashire's Liam Livingstone scored one on his debut for Rajasthan, having come into the side for Ben Stokes, who missed out with a niggle.
Rajasthan seamer Jofra Archer - hoping to join Buttler and Stokes in England's provisional World Cup squad, which is announced on Wednesday - earlier picked up 3-39 from four overs, removing Quinton de Kock (81), Rohit Sharma (47), and Kieron Pollard (7), as Mumbai posted 187-5.
Royals' victory was just their second in seven matches this season, while defeat for third-placed Mumbai prevented them from moving into second spot and just two points behind league leaders Chennai Super Kings.
In the later game, Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 99 for Kings XI Punjab but it was not enough as Royal Challengers Bangalore chased down 174 thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli (67) and AB de Villiers (59no). SCORECARD
The win was RCB's first of the campaign but they remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
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