Jos Buttler had hit a lean patch in the latter half of the league stage of IPL 2022 and the Rajasthan Royals would have been worried over his form going into Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
The Englishman though, couldn’t have picked a better occasion to bounce back to form.
Buttler was back among the runs and how, smashing 89 off just 56 deliveries to propel the Royals to a competitive score of 188/6 after the Gujarat Titans invited them to bat at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the first playoff fixture of the season.
But it wasn’t a smooth sailing for Buttler on Tuesday evening though, as at one stage the keeper-batter was visibly struggling to get going at the centre.
The struggle
Buttler got off to a promising start as he produced a few cracking drives off Mohammed Shami’s bowling in the powerplay, collecting three fours off the Gujarat pace spearhead to move to double figures in quick time.
The Englishman though, decided to tone down his approach and allow skipper Sanju Samson, who came in at No 3, to take over the role of the aggressor. Samson struck a six off Yash Dayal off the first ball that he faced, and was on a roll thereafter as he single-handedly took on the Gujarat attack until he was dismissed in the 10th over.
Jos Buttler smashed 89 off just 56 deliveries to propel Rajasthan Royals to a competitive 188/6 in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2022 against Gujarat Titans. Sportzpics
Buttler’s cautious approach though, was beginning to hurt the Royals, whose run rate was below eight at the halfway mark despite the fireworks of Samson’s bat. Padikkal, who came in after Samson’s exit, did give RR a boost in the 14th over with a six and two consecutive fours off R Sai Kishore, but he was dismissed for 28 the very next over.
Part of his cautious approach was the fact that the Royals were also looking to bat through Rashid Khan’s overs without taking much risk. The Afghan leg-spinner bowled three straight overs after getting introduced right after the powerplay, as well as the 16th, and conceded just 15 from his quota in what was yet another stellar display.
At the end of the 16th over, Buttler was batting on 39 off 38 deliveries, 14 of which were dot balls, and the pressure was starting to mount on Samson’s men.
The late burst
Buttler might have been patient for three-quarters of his stay at the crease, which might have led to a few angry posts on social media, he more than made up for it by teeing off in the slog overs, helping Rajasthan collect 61 off the next four and in the process, bringing up his fourth half-century of the season.
Buttler smashed Dayal for four boundaries as 18 were plundered in the 17th over, and collected another three off Joseph in the following over. He would collect his first six of the innings in the final ball of the penultimate over, bowled by Shami, smashing the ball over long off, and would collect another three balls later off Dayal, by which time he was batting in the 80s and hoping to get as close to the three-figure mark as possible.
Buttler’s knock though, was by no means a flawless even in his destructive approach in the slog overs. Had Hardik Pandya not slipped in front of the boundary rope at long off, Dayal would’ve bagged Buttler’s wicket in the second ball of the 17th and who knows how many runs that would’ve saved for the Titans.
Two balls later, he would collect a boundary after a misfield by Joseph at short third man and two overs later, would be dropped by Rashid at the midwicket region off Shami’s bowling.
He would eventually get run out off a no-ball in the final delivery while pushing for a non-existent second.
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