Rohit Sharma: Buttler played an exceptional innings, we tried everything to get him out
Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by 23 runs to go top of the table in the 2022 Indian Premier League campaign.
Also read: Rajasthan Royals defeat five-time champions Mumbai Indians by 23 runs
The Royals had a shaky start to their innings as they lost young left-handed batsmen Yashaswi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal in the powerplay overs. From the other end, Jos Buttler kept his side in the game as he smashed Basil Thampi for 26 runs in a solitary over.
Skipper Sanju Samson walked out at No.4 and built a solid partnership with the English wicket-keeper batsman as they compiled 78 runs in 50 balls before the skipper departed back to the pavilion.
Shimron Hetmyer’s blistering innings of 35 runs off 14 balls and Buttler’s ton consisting of 11 boundaries and 5 maximums allowed the Royals to post a challenging target of 194 runs.
After a quick start, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma gave away his wicket to Prasidh Krishna and Anmolpreet Singh once again failed to justify his spot in the team as Navdeep Saini dismissed him for a meagre score of 5 runs.
Young southpaws Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma built a solid partnership of 81 runs in 9 overs which was broken by another southpaw in Trent Boult. After Kishan’s dismissal, Varma also joined him back in the dugout before Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Tim David and Daniel Sams off consecutive deliveries.
Keiron Pollard showed some fight at the business end of the match but failed to accelerate his innings and the Mumbai-based franchise fell 23 runs short of the Royals’ score to succumb to their second consecutive defeat of the ongoing IPL season.
Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders outclass Punjab Kings courtesy of an Andre Russell show
At the post-match presentation, Rohit heaped praise on Buttler and talked about how things fell apart during the run-chase.
He said,
“I thought they batted pretty well to get to 193. Buttler played an exceptional innings. We tried everything to get him out but he played really well. I thought 193 on that pitch could have been chased, especially when we needed 70 off 7 overs. But these things can happen as it is early days in the tournament, we can learn from that and come out better.”
Losing skipper Sharma also stressed some positives before mentioning key player Suryakumar Yadav who has missed the first two matches due to a finger injury.
He continued,
“Bumrah bowling well, Mills too, Tilak’s batting was exceptional and so was Ishan’s. I think one of those two should have batted through. The other side is big and we wanted to make the batters hit to that side, but it happens when you come up against a quality batter like Buttler. He (SKY) is a key player for us. Once he is fit he will come straight back. These finger injuries can be tricky and we want to give him time.”
Winning captain Sanju Samson discussed how the match was in balance till the Caribbean powerhouse Pollard was out in the middle but praised his bowlers’ experience.
He said,
“It feels really good to win. With Pollard there at the end, the game was still on and we did well. Playing a quality team like Mumbai Indians, we know they will come after you. Have to trust in your death bowlers and that’s what I had. We knew that a couple of wickets and things would turn. Have to trust our bowling attack, there are a lot of thinkers and it was about just trusting them. As the tournament goes on, we have to learn our lessons and move forward, whether we win or lose.”
Centurion and ‘Man of the Match’ Jos Buttler discussed how is feeling confident coming into the white-ball season after skipping the West Indies red-ball tour to spend time with his family.He said,
“Feels fantastic to contribute to a win. Was a bit nervous at the halfway mark, wondering if the innings will result in a win or not. The last few months have been wonderful, so just carrying on from there. Family time has helped me to relax and refresh. I always have confidence coming into white-ball cricket, that’s where my strength is.”