English opener Jos Buttler and captain Sanju Samson struck commanding half-centuries as Rajasthan Royals piled up 214-2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday. After a 54-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal (35), Buttler (95 off 59 balls) stitched another 138 runs with Samson (66 not out) in 13.3 overs to steer the Royals to a big total after opting to bat.

At the time of going to press, SRH were 45-0 in five overs. Buttler missed a well-deserved century as he got out in the penultimate over with five runs short. He hit 10 fours and four sixes during his crafty innings. Samson’s 38-ball unbeaten knock was studded with four boundaries and five sixes. The SRH bowlers looked clueless throughout the innings with all of them bleeding runs.