Jos Buttler paid a touching tribute to legendary Shane Warne after powering Rajasthan Royals to the final of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The right-handed batsman scored a stunning century to help the Royals beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second qualifier.
The Royals beat RCB by seven wickets to storm into the final where they will lock horns against Gujarat Titans. This will be Royals’ first appearance in the final since their first-ever captain Warne led them to the title in the inaugural season in 2008.
Earlier this month, Warne passed away after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest and Buttler made sure to pay him a heartfelt tribute after leading Royals to the final. The England superstar was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten century.
The hard-hitting batsman slammed an unbeaten 106 as Royals chased down the total with 11 balls remaining. Buttler’s knock came off 60 balls and was studded with 10 fours and 6 sixes. Thanks to his knock, the Royals chased down 158 by losing just 3 wickets and 11 balls remaining.
Following the game, Jos Buttler made sure to remember Warne on the special occasion. Expressing his excitement over playing in his first IPL final, Buttler said that the Royals would dearly miss Warne.
“Great excitement to be able to play in the final of the biggest T20 tournament in the world.. it’s incredibly exciting. Shane Warne has been such an influential figure for Rajasthan Royals and having led the team to the title in the first season. We will miss him dearly but we know he is looking down on us with a lot of pride today,” Buttler told Star Sports.
Jos Buttler leading run-scorer:
Jos Buttler is now the leading run-scorer in IPL 2022 after his fourth ton of the season. He also became only the second batsman after Virat Kohli and David Warner to score 800 or more runs in a single IPL season.
Buttler is also only the second player after Kohli to score 4 centuries in a single season. Kohli was the first player to achieve this feat in 2016. Buttler will have a chance to break the India star’s record in the upcoming final.