The England opener scored 106 runs from 60 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore, including a match-winning six off the first delivery of the penultimate over
Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bangalore 157-8, Rajasthan Royals 161-3 – Rajasthan Royals won by seven wickets
Jos Buttler was on fire in Ahmedabad to steer Rajasthan Royals in their first IPL final since 2008, blasting an unbeaten century against Royal Challengers Bangalore to seal a seven-wicket win.
The England opener scored three centuries and three half-centuries in his opening nine innings in the tournament before fading towards the end of the group stages. However, he has now scored back-to-back knocks of 89 and 106 not out (60 balls) in the knockout stages to put the Royals on the brink of their second IPL title.
Chasing 157, Buttler scored 10 fours and six sixes in his monster knock, including hitting a match-winning six off the first ball of the penultimate over.
Rajat Patidar was once again among the runs for RCB
He received support from Yashasvi Jaiswal (21) and Sanju Samson (23) while Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell were the pick of RCB’s bowlers, taking 2 for 23 and 0 for 17, respectively.
Earlier, Rajat Patidar had once again been among the runs for RCB, scoring 58 runs from 42 balls.
Following the second over departure of Virat Kohli, Patidar entered the match and enjoyed a productive 70-run (53 balls) partnership with Faf du Plessis before adding 32 runs (20 balls) with Maxwell.
However, following Maxwell’s exit in the 14th, Patidar was RCB’s last line of defence with the bat and when he was removed for midway through the 16th, they struggled from 130 for 4 to 157 for 8 at close - a total which never felt defendable against a Buttler-wielding Rajasthan.
Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy were the standout bowlers, taking 3 for 22 and 3 for 23, respectively.
Rajasthan Royals face Gujarat Titans in the final on May 29.