Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a brilliant day with the ball as they restricted the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to 125 runs and then chased down the total with 7 wickets in hand in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Jos Buttler was adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his unbeaten 70 off 48 deliveries that comprised 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Rajasthan Royals are now the second franchise along with the Delhi Capitals (DC) to have defeated CSK in their league head-to-heads.
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Opting to bowl first, the Steve Smith-led aide conceded just 125 runs in 20 overs courtesy of the pace of Jofra Archer (1/18) and the spin prowess of Shreyas Gopal (1/14) and Rahul Tewatia (1/18). Kartik Tyagi had been expensive initially but bounced back in the final over by conceding just 7 runs and ended with figures of 4-0-35-1. Ben Stokes bowled three overs and remained wicketless along with Ankit Rajpoot who bowled just a sole over from his quota.
Chasing 126, RR had a shaky start as they lost the early wickets of Ben Stokes (19), Robin Uthappa (4), and Sanju Samson (0) in the first 5 overs.
Nice to get a win onboard tonight: Jos Buttler
Rajasthan Royals needed 98 runs off 90 deliveries and it is then the duo of Jos Buttler and skipper Steve Smith laid a match-winning 98* run stand to take their side to a comfortable win.
Though Smith played a gutsy knock by holding the wicket from an end and firing the shots later, Buttler, on the other hand, was striking the ball across the fence and played at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 145.83.
Buttler highlighted that he couldn’t contribute much in the previous game wherein he scored 25 odd runs and thus, he decided to bat more freely versus CSK.
“Nice to get a win on the board tonight. I tried to come out with some intensity in my batting. I didn’t think I had enough last game, and I decided to take a few more options tonight, and it came off,” said Buttler in the post-match presentation.
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The English cricketer is known for his usage of reverse sweeps and scoop shots in limited-overs cricket. With the target being less than 130, Buttler didn’t shy away from exhibiting the innovative shots.
“You have to keep trusting yourself and particularly when there is no scoreboard pressure, you can play yourself in and let cut loose in the end,” said the 30-year-old.
Buttler opened the innings for the Royals in his first 7 outings this season. However, the Englishman has been batting at No 5 since the last two outings. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) he struck a 25 off 24 deliveries but bounced back stronger versus CSK in the recently concluded contest.
Speaking on his new batting position, he added,” I am happy to do whatever the team needs me to do. This is my role now.”
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Jos Buttler is currently leading the batting charts for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020. In 9 innings he has aggregated 262 runs, averaging 32.75, striking at over 140, and 2 half-centuries to his name. Skipper Steve Smith is second in the runs tally for the Royals, with 246 runs and 3 fifty-plus totals.
Rahul Tewatia has been highly impactful this season, scoring 222 runs at an average and strike rate of 44.40 and 145.09 respectively.
Sanju Samson, who struck fifties in the first couple of matches, has amassed just 77 runs in the last 8 innings while averaging 9.62. It’s about time the hard-hitter gets back his form for the remaining games.
Jofra Archer is spearheading the bowling department with 13 scalpings in 10 matches, averaging 20.61, and at an economy of 6.75.
The Men in Pink are now at the 5th spot in the points table with 4 wins in 10 matches, 8 points, and an NRR of -0.591.
Rajasthan Royals will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on October 22 in Dubai.
