England’s Will Jacks smashes unbeaten century in IPL debut, leads Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory

In a stunning display of power hitting, England all-rounder Will Jacks announced his arrival in the Indian Premier League with a scintillating unbeaten century off just 41 balls to help Royal Challengers Bangalore secure a nine-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans.

Chasing a target of 201, Jacks took the Gujarat bowlers to the cleaners as he smashed 10 sixes and five fours in his innings. The highlight of his knock was a brutal assault on Rashid Khan, where he plundered 28 runs in one over, including four massive sixes.

Jacks found an able partner in RCB captain Virat Kohli, as the duo put on an unbeaten 166-run stand to guide their team to victory with four overs to spare. Kohli played a supporting role with a well-crafted 70 not out from 44 deliveries.

Gujarat Titans had earlier posted a competitive total of 200-3, with Sai Sudharsan leading the way with a brilliant knock of 84. However, their bowlers had no answer to the onslaught from Jacks and Kohli.

Jacks’ heroics with the bat earned him praise from Kohli, who lauded the young Englishman for his calmness under pressure. Jacks becomes the third England batter to score a century in this year’s IPL, following in the footsteps of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow.

Despite the win, RCB remains at the bottom of the table with just three victories from 10 matches, while Gujarat Titans are placed seventh. With Jacks in red-hot form, RCB will be hoping to build on this victory and climb up the standings in the remaining matches of the tournament.