England’s Jos Buttler struck his second successive half-century in the IPL to guide Gujarat Titans to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.
Buttler hit 60 off 37 balls and put on 84 runs for the second wicket with skipper Shubman Gill (56) as Gujarat chased down 165 with eight balls to spare at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium.
Buttler’s latest knock laced with 11 fours comes after his match-winning 52 in Gujarat’s previous match to overcome an extended slump which included a disappointing T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
“(I have) Been through a lean patch last couple of months but nice to get some good games,” the 35-year-old Buttler said after the win.
“A few technical issues crept into my game which were actually not allowing me to see the ball so well. So I’ve been focusing on everything pre-delivery.
“I’ve played for 15 years and I know what to do when I get in.”
Buttler, a wicketkeeper-batter, scored just 87 runs in eight matches during this year’s T20 World Cup as England lost in the semifinals to eventual champions India last month.
In Lucknow, he looked fluent against pace and spin until his dismissal off Mohammed Shami, who got the prized wicket off a slower ball.
Earlier, Gill also registered his second straight half-century but his and Buttler’s wickets in the space of six deliveries raised Lucknow’s hopes.
Washington Sundar, who made an unbeaten 21, and Rahul Tewatia (10) kept calm and steered the team home in 18.4 overs.
Pace bowler Prasidh Krishna set up Gujarat’s second successive win with his T20 best of 4-28 to keep Lucknow down to 164-8 after being invited to bat first.
Lucknow batters got starts but failed to convert them into bigger scores with South Africa’s Aiden Markram top-scoring with 30.
Source: Khaleej Times