Jos Buttler's century in T20 World Cup 2021 (Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com)
If someone asks what T20 cricket is, the simplest answer is the thrill of the game, where a single ball can rewrite the destiny of the game. With just 120 deliveries each side to survive or dominate, batters hunt immediate impact while bowlers charge in desperately to seize control of the madness.
Over the years, the shortest format of the game has seen some of the fiercest performances, but some players dared to write a different script. Among them, former England skipper Jos Buttler delivered a knock that revealed a completely different, unexpected face of the shortest format.
Facing Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup in 2021, Jos Buttler smashed a spectacular hundred in 67 balls, the fifth slowest hundred in T20I history. It was a day when the fastest format broke its own rules, and let’s relive the madness again.
Jos Buttler’s first T20I ton shatters the stereotype of the shortest format
Cricket was born in the calm of Test matches, where patience ruled every session, but T20 arrived like an explosion, unleashing rapid-fire madness that instantly captured fans’ hearts. The format found its biggest stage with the arrival of the T20 World Cup, delivering some of the most electrifying knocks the game has ever seen.
Among all the brave tales of the power-hitting brilliance, Jos Buttler scripted a history, but with a twist. In the T20 World Cup 2021, England faced Sri Lanka in a group stage clash, and the world witnessed a magnificent milestone in his T20I career.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka forced England to bat first. Coming to open the innings with Jos Buttler, Jason Roy walked away early, scoring only nine runs. As England already faced an early blow, Sri Lanka tightened their grip, and England lost three wickets within just 35 runs.
England were staring at disaster when Jos Buttler stepped up and lit the spark his side desperately needed. Taking the charge into his own hands, he faced the lethal Sri Lankan bowling attack with a brave heart. In that situation. The world expected a fiery innings, but Buttler added a touch of patience to boost the innings.
After Bairstow’s dismissal, captain Eoin Morgan joined Buttler, and Sri Lanka faced a nightmare. While anchoring the innings, Buttler scored a gritty half-century in 45 balls. On the grand stage of the T20 World Cup, where fireworks were expected, Buttler chose ice-cold control over explosive chaos.
After scoring 40 runs, Morgan walked away, and Moeen Ali joined him on the crease. Pairing up with the bowler, he continued his brilliance. Before that day, a hundred in the T20Is was far from Buttler, but that match changed the stats.
Stepping into the final over, Buttler was standing on 87 runs and smashed a boundary in the very first delivery. In the third delivery, Buttler got a lifeline as Pathum Nissanka dropped his catch in 93. Destiny may have wanted him to touch the sky as the English batter never looked back. After the next two deliveries ended up being dots, he smashed a massive six to Chameera and completed his first T20I hundred.
The most-awaited century came in 67 balls, as Buttler enjoyed the milestone, but it came up with a twist. In the process, he became the only English batter to score centuries across all three formats of the game. Adding to the intrigue, the knock went down as the fifth slowest T20I hundred in history
Since the beginning of the format, it only unleashed fire, but Buttler’s knock proved there are some exceptions. Pushing the fireworks aside, he put England first, knowing one reckless risk could plunge his side into chaos. England won that match, but Buttler’s century has become a forever highlight.
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