‘It was a bit like MS Dhoni of the past’ – Sanjay Manjrekar on Jos Buttler’s blistering 89 vs GT

After three successive single digit scores in the IPL 2022 league stage, Jos Buttler seemingly rediscovered his dominant best during the first Qualifier against GT, smashing a 56-ball 89 in RR’s first innings effort of 188/6. The opener now has 718 runs in the season, well ahead of the second placed KL Rahul (537) in the Orange Cap race.

Buttler had scored 39 off 38 by the end of 16 overs, with Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal striking them big earlier, before he himself unleashed the carnage. The right-hander tonked 50 off the final 18 balls he faced, taking a particular liking to pacers Alzarri Joseph and Yash Dayal in the final stages. It wasn’t quite enough as David Miller sealed the game for GT later in the eve with three consecutive sixes off Prasidh Krishna in the final over.

700-plus runs in an IPL season

Virat Kohli (2016) – 973 runs
David Warner (2016) – 848 runs
Kane Williamson (2018) – 735 runs
Mike Hussey (2013) – 733 runs
Chris Gayle (2012) – 733 runs
Jos Buttler (2022)* – 718 runs*
Chris Gayle (2013) – 708 runs#GTvRR #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/5Cr7GeNphY

— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) May 24, 2022

Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar felt that Buttler’s innings progression was similar to that of MS Dhoni.

“He put all his eggs in the last four overs, it’s a very dangerous tactic,” Manjrekar said during an interaction with ESPNCricinfo. “You saw Samson and Padikkal play and maybe the pitch was still good enough for batting. I thought Buttler, somewhere, had planned this innings. He was thinking of it as a big stage, ‘I’ve got to fire’. And he was waiting for the last four overs. 

“It was a bit like Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the past, because he wasn’t looking to take any chances against Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore. But the moment Yash Dayal came in, that tactic which Buttler had – of not going after the bowling until the very end – not really going after the bowling as much, while going at a strike-rate of around 100 was very dangerous.”

Buttler had his moments of fortune earlier in the innings, with Hardik Pandya losing his balance and slipping on a wet outfield to miss a fairly straightforward catch at long-off when the batter was on 43. He was later dropped by Rashid Khan off Mohammed Shami when on 71 in the penultimate over.

“Had Hardik Pandya cleaned up his spikes, he would’ve been gone and that innings would’ve looked a bit strange and would not have helped Rajasthan’s cause,” added Manjrekar. 

“But later on you saw the ability he has and the tactic eventually paid off. Very few batters in the world are able to take quality bowlers to the cleaners like that.”

RR will now take on the winner of the Eliminator clash between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 27.