Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten 95 to guide his team to victory. (Source: BCCI)
Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 95 steered Rajasthan Royals to a four-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday. The win over CSK was vital for the Royals as they now have 10 points (level with MI and KKR) to stay alive in Indian Premier League, 2018. Buttler, who has been in terrific form this season, continued his sensational form as he hit his fourth consecutive half-century of the tournament. Battling the searing heat and fatigue Buttler slammed sixes and fours to take his side close to the target. Late cameos by Krishnappa Gowtham and Stuart Binny ensured that the Royals cantered home with one ball to spare. Buttler’s 95, which was the fourth highest score in Jaipur, drew widespread applause across the cricketing fraternity and RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane described his knock as the difference between the two teams.
Speaking at the post-match press presentation, Rahane said, “Buttler’s consistent batting at the top is magnificent. As I always mention, this format is always about giving your best every day. KG’s knock was crucial. I was nervous, but sometimes you have to control your emotions as a captain and we all had a feeling that Buttler will take us through. The way he handled the spinners was too good. He’s learning a lot, spending time with the experienced players and Warnie.”
A nail biting finish here in Jaipur as the @rajasthanroyals beat #CSK by 4 wickets in a must win game.#RRvCSK pic.twitter.com/ha9LBtqNUx
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) 11 May 2018
Not easy bowling in the powerplay (talking about Gowtham). It’s all about taking one game at a time right now. Now going to Mumbai, we all know how dangerous a side they are. Would like to thank Rajasthan Royals and Rajasthan government for supporting this initiative with cancer patients,” he added.
Meanwhile, Man of the match, Jos Buttler expressed satisfaction over his innings and said, “It’s always special to be not out in the end. As we’ve seen, the wicket plays really well in the first six. Just trying to capitalize on that. Couldn’t quite get it away, had quite a bit of luck. Relatively big ground here too so can take twos. Special to perform with my family here. We’ve kept ourselves in the competition,” he concluded by saying.