'Same brand of T20 cricket as Virat Kohli': Cricket world reacts as Jos Buttler's century leaves India shell-shocked

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'Same brand of T20 cricket as Virat Kohli': Cricket world reacts as Jos Buttler's century leaves India shell-shocked originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Jos Buttler smashed 131 off 64 balls against India, for his second T20I century, at Southampton.
  • He reached his hundred in 51 balls before England posted a mammoth 257/3.
  • Harry Brook supported with an unbeaten 95 off 45 as India's bowlers wilted.

Jos Buttler's century leaves India shell-shocked

Jos Buttler arrived at the Rose Bowl carrying questions about his form and his future in a format he once dominated. By the end of England's innings, those questions had been answered in the most emphatic manner imaginable, with the veteran producing a masterclass that left India ragged.

Buttler blasted 131 from just 64 balls, reaching his century in only 51 deliveries and clubbing 12 fours and eight sixes on a scorching Southampton afternoon. His second-wicket stand with Harry Brook yielded 233 runs, dismantling an Indian attack that had no answers.

England finished on a colossal 257 for 3 after Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl. Brook remained unbeaten on 95 off 45 balls, and social media erupted as one of white-ball cricket's great entertainers rolled back the years.

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The cricket world hails a Buttler masterclass

Journalist Will Macpherson captured the mood as the hundred arrived. "Jos Buttler has still got it: sensational 51-ball hundred," he wrote on X, noting the acceleration that broke India's spirit. "Second fifty came in 17 balls, and he's nine fours and six sixes. Dropped next ball; India are all over the shop."

Broadcaster Aatif Nawaz urged fans not to lose sight of what they were watching. "Jos Buttler! 2nd T20 international hundred. 9th in all T20s," he posted. "Don't ever forget this guy's levels. One of the greatest white ball players of all time. Today is a reminder of just how good he is." He followed it with a simple plea. "Jos Buttler! Never retire. Play forever!!!"

The comparison that framed the innings came from X user Rajiv, who saw shades of a modern great in Buttler's method. "Jos Buttler has the same brand of T20 cricket that Virat Kohli had," he wrote. "He would anchor the inning and still would have a strike rate around 200 if he plays 40-50 balls!"

Journalist Amol Karhadkar summed up India's helplessness with a wry observation. "This looks like a Saturday afternoon driving outing on a golf course for Jos Buttler and Harry Brook," he posted as the pair carved the bowling to every corner of the Rose Bowl.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan offered praise laced with frustration at his own side. "Jos Buttler is back to form. He is a joy to watch when in full flow," he wrote. "But how badly we have bowled to a guy who was under pressure. Many deliveries in his arch."

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A brutal verdict on India's decline

The scale of the punishment tells its own story. Axar Patel conceded 63 from his four overs and Prince Yadav went for 60, while England plundered 17 fours and 17 sixes in an innings that turned a dead rubber into a demolition.

Pathan's point about India's lines lands hardest. Buttler entered this match under genuine scrutiny, and rather than testing him with discipline, India served up width and length that let him settle before accelerating into the death overs unchallenged.

For a side already 0-3 down and staring at a series whitewash, conceding the highest total of the series is a damning conclusion. India's chase is now underway, but the deeper problem remains a bowling attack that has offered its opponents almost nothing to fear all tour.

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