Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler enjoyed one of the best batting forms in the Indian Premier League history as he ended the IPL 2022 season with an aggregate score of 863 runs in 17 games. His efforts, however, were not enough on Sunday when his side had to settle for a runners-up spot after losing the final to Gujarat Titans by seven wickets.
The 31-year-old Englishman still contributed his team’s best batting performance of the night with a 35-ball 39 knock in the losing cause but his overall efforts in the season (including four centuries) helped him bag awards galore at the closing ceremony in Ahmedabad.
Jos Buttler receives Most Fours in the match award during IPL 2022 closing ceremony in Ahmedabad on Sunday night. Sportzpics
His best came in the opening phase of the tournament with three centuries in the the first seven games. This was followed by a slump in form by his own standards as he could only garner 139 runs in the remaining league games. He, did, however, find his mojo back in the playoff stages with innings of 89 against GT in Qualifier 1 and 106* against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2.
The England opener expectedly claimed the Orange Cap by a distance (more than 250 runs ahead of second-best KL Rahul who scored 616 runs). Buttler earned a cheque of Rs 10 lakh along with the cap.
The right-handed batter, however, wasn’t done for the night as his extraordinary batting performances of the season saw him claim multiple awards — Most Valuable Player of the Season award, Most sixes in the season award (45 sixes), Game Changer of the Season award, Most Fours in the Season Award (83 fours), and Powerplayer of the Season award. In total, Buttler grabbed Rs 60 lakh in the season’s prize money with each award fetching Rs 10 lakh.
At the culmination of the season, Buttler admitted he has exceeded all his expectations but wasn’t happy with his performance in the final. He also congratulated Gujarat Titans on their triumph.
“Exceeded all my expectations for the season apart from today. A big congratulations to Hardik and his team, they are the deserving champions. My goal is to play for my time and try reacting to the situation,” he said.
“I had huge trust in everyone in the team even though we came up short today. My role for the team is to react on the day regarding what the game is asking me to do. In good teams, you have a lot of trust in everyone. We have huge trust in everyone in our team,” he added.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, IPL Live Score, IPL 2022 schedule, IPL 2022 Points table and Entertainment News. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.