Mumbai, May 3 (IANS): Despite his failure in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Jos Buttler strengthened his position at the top of the Orange Cap table as he lifted his tally to a whopping 588 runs in 10 innings, comprising three hundred and as many fifties.
Only Virat Kohli has scored four hundred in a single season, a feat he achieved in the 2016 edition.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener also leads the six-hitters chart with 36 sixes to his name this season. Punjab Kings' Chris Gayle leads the overall list with 357 sixes.
Buttler has been on a run-scoring spree in the ongoing tournament, with an average of 65.33 and strike-rate of 150.76. With three centuries and as many fifties against his name, Buttler is leading the Orange Cap race by a margin of 137 runs over Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul. The fact that Buttler is ahead of the next best in terms of batting impact score shows just how dominant he has been.
Buttler's three tons came against formidable bowling line-ups in Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. The England wicketkeeper has impressed many including former cricketer Nick Knight and Kevin Pietersen.
"What impressed me hugely about Jos Buttler is the way he's started every innings. I mean if we look at the outcome of his innings, mostly it's either the 50s or 100s, he's (looking) in a different gear. (But) He tends to forget what he did in the previous game and starts afresh. (He) Hasn't taken his form for granted at all. He's giving himself a few balls to get in and then play those big shots," Knight had said on Cricket Live show on Star Sports.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has also praised the swashbuckling batter, saying he is running out of adjectives and superlatives to describe the sensational performances of Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler in the ongoing IPL 2022.
"We are running out of adjectives and superlatives. The TATA IPL is made incredible by the innings like these. The spectators love this, we love this, everybody in the studio loved this. I mean some of the shots he played you can't buy them. You can't practice that (because) no one sells it," Pietersen had said on Cricket Live show on Star Sports.