Since being moved up to open the batting for England, Buttler averages 60.50 striking at a rate of 149.17. And his brilliant century in Sharjah was arguably his best international performance in the role so far.

Here we take a look at some of the key numbers behind Buttler’s match-winning innings…

Buttler has become the first England man to score a century in all three international formats.

The 101* is only the second T20I World Cup century by an England player, following on from Alex Hales’ 116* against the same opposition, Sri Lanka, at the 2014 T20 World Cup.

And Buttler becomes only the fourth English man to score a T20I century in any competition, joining Hales, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone in that illustrious club.

RUTHLESS AND TARGETED ACCELERATION

Match Centre | Match Report

Buttler’s targeting of his match-ups was stark. His conservative approach against Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga yielded 12 runs off 24 balls faced. In contrast, he scored at a strike rate of over 200 against the rest of Sri Lanka attack, smashing 89 off 43.

The acceleration in the back-half of Buttler’s innings saw him hit 77 off the last 37 balls faced.

And his second 50 came off just 22.

Six sixes in a T20I innings equals the most by an England player at a T20 World Cup, a record previously held solely by Hales.

LEADING THE WAY IN THE UAE

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 - Tournament Stats

Buttler is unsurprisingly leading the way in most of the tournament statistics with the bat.

He is the top run-scorer at the tournament with 214, 44 runs clear of next-best batter Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lank, whose tally also includes runs from Round 1.

His 101* is the first century of the tournament and 21 runs clear of the previous highest individual score, Asalanka’s 80* for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh.

Buttler has been dismissed just once in the tournament, by Bangladesh, so naturally leads the tournament’s highest averages.

And the England opener has scored the most maximums of the tournament so far with 12, and the joint-most fours with 15.

ASTONISHING 2021 FORM

Buttler’s knock takes his 2021 run-tally in T20Is to 534, the highest return in a calendar year by an England international.

That return comfortably surpasses England’s previous best of 397 – held jointly by Malan in 2020 and Hales in 2014.

Only Pakistan openers Babar Azam (651) and Mohammad Rizwan (872) have scored more T20I runs to-date in 2021 than Buttler’s 534, and both have played 17 innings to Buttler’s 12.

WHAT BUTTLER SAID

"I found it tough early on," a typically modest Buttler said after the match. "The spinners were especially tricky with the low bounce and they were hard to get away.

"So I'm really pleased to have kept a calm head and worked through it.

"I backed myself to come good at the end and started to target certain bowlers and at certain ends with a shorter side on one side.

"I felt like I used a lot of experience. I remember saying a while ago, if I can put both parts of my game together then I think I'll be getting in a really good place with my T20 batting.

"I've had a lot of experience batting in the middle and to put that together with the top, I can back myself to catch up at certain times and use the death-hitting side of my game, which is a strength."