English batsman slams 43-ball 89 as Rajasthan cruise to 4-wicket win over hosts Mumbai
6, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 – this in an over of a fast bowler who had delivered the best-ever IPL bowling figures of 6/12 just two games before.
When Jos Buttler is in that kind of a mood – and form — there's absolutely nothing anyone can do, as West Indian pacer Alzarri Joseph found out exactly a week after announcing his IPL arrival in record style.
And so Rajasthan Royals (RR) pulled off their second win this season, beating Mumbai Indians (MI) by four wickets at the Wankhede here on Saturday, with the Englishman's breathtaking 43-ball 89 the singular difference between the two sides.
After squandering a match they should've won against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday, Buttler spoke about the team needing to learn the art of crossing the finishing line.
And the boys in pink almost allowed history to repeat itself. Despite cruising at 147/1 in the 14th over when Buttler got out, the visitors made MI sniff an unlikely victory by taking the 188-run chase into the final over.
Needing 41 to win off 41, RR lost their way from 147/1 to 174/6, Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya packing off their middle-order as rapidly as Buttler smacked his boundaries.
It was left to the calm head of Shreyas Gopal — who seems to be doing no wrong at the moment: bowls cunningly, bats sensibly, fields spectacularly – to take his team home with a couple of fours in the last two overs.
It was inexplicable that the equation came down to six off six balls after the foundation Buttler had gift-wrapped for his teammates.
The 28-year-old took a back seat to begin with, captain Ajinkya Rahane playing an un-Rahane like innings of 37 in 21 balls as RR raced to 59/0 in the first six overs.
Buttler's first 14 deliveries fetched only 16 runs but once his fellow opener departed in the 7th over, he took it upon himself to up the ante, collecting 34 runs off his next 15 balls to bring up his third half-century of this IPL season.
He took a liking to the MI spinners, striking Krunal and leggie Rahul Chahar for sublime sixes in the V. But Jos really bossed it in the 13th over, bringing out his full array of strokes for six successive boundaries that left Joseph, MI captain Rohit Sharma and the entire crowd stunned.
Buttler began with a six straight over the bowler's head, following it up with a four through mid off and point. The next two full length deliveries were carved past third man, while the final flourish was a mammoth strike over midwicket.
It was just the kind of mid-innings impetus that MI failed to generate after a start as good as the visitors'.
Comeback-man Rohit — who missed the last game — and Quinton de Kock put on show contrasting styles of stroke-making at the top. While the Indian creamed a few fours through covers and point, the South African bludgeoned a couple of sixes as MI put on 57/0 in the powerplay.
However, a smart bowling change brought about the breakthrough and applied the brakes. Desperate for a wicket, Rahane turned to his most lethal weapon in Archer in the 11th over, and the fast bowler answered his captain's call by getting Rohit holed out at long on for 47.
An opening found, RR began applying the screws. Leg-spinner Gopal led the way with his clever variations in length and pace, managing to keep even last game's hero Kieron Pollard quiet after Dhawal Kulkarni had cleaned up Suryakumar Yadav.
De Kock notched up his fifty but from 98/0 after 10 overs, MI were checked to 135/2 by the 16th, and the squeeze resulted in cracks.
Pollard top-edged a speeding short ball from Archer to end a painstaking 12-ball six as Gopal took a smart catch running backwards from midwicket.
De Kock ran out of breath too, and it was left to Hardik Pandya to infuse some life late into the innings, his 11-ball 28* courtesy a couple of helicopter smacks over midwicket taking MI to 187/5.
N ZONE
- 200 No. of T20 matches played by Mumbai Indians, the first team in the world to play 200 T20 games
- 100 No. of matches in which Rohit Sharma has been captain for Mumbai Indians
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Jos Buttler")
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}