The last ball of the first innings was bowled three times. Two of them resulted in run-outs – one on a no-ball and the second one wide. The Rajasthan Royals scored 188 runs losing six wickets in the first Qualifier against the Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday.
RR posted an above-par total on a sticky wicket. Most of the 188 runs were scored by orange cap holder Jos Buttler. The Englishman smashed 89 off 56 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and two maximums. He was dropped as many as three times in the span of 20 overs.
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First, Hardik Pandya dropped Buttler early in his innings and then Rashid Khan, running from mid-wicket, let the ball slip when the batter was cruising on 69. After the Afghan’s dropped catch, the RR player scored 26 runs in the next eight balls.
Jos Buttler started off with two beautiful cover drives in the powerplay. He then slowed down. With Samson and Devdutt Paddikal taking the lead, the English hard-hitter just held one end and played second fiddle. However, he exploded in the last four overs that yielded 60 runs for Rajasthan.
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In the first 38 balls, Buttler’s score was 39 runs. In the next 18, he scored 50. However, the innings was not as clean as it sounds. The batter slashed, cut and mistimed several deliveries that went to the fence.
“Jos always knew he could make up at any point. Regardless of what situation it was, I was going to take on the left-arm spinner anyway. It’s a little bit dry, not bouncing that much. It’s a bit two-paced that way. Having our spinners who have been doing well will be key,” Paddikal spoke about Buttler’s innings.
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Jos Buttler was finally run out on a no ball.
Sanju Samson scored 47 runs off 26 balls. Rashid Khan bowled extremely well and finished with none for 15 in his full quota of four overs.
