“Practicing for ODI World Cup to beat India”- Twitter erupts as Jos Buttler and cameo from Shimron Hetmyer guide Rajasthan Royals to competitive total
Had Buttler stayed at the crease for a few more overs, he and Shimron Hetmyer would have taken the Royals to a 200-plus total.
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Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer
Rajasthan Royals (RR) posted a competitive total of 175/8 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday (April 12) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Jos Buttler, who has been a consistent performer for the franchise, scored another half-century, plus Shimron Hetmyer also finished the innings well.
After winning the toss, CSK skipper MS Dhoni chose to field first. The Yellow Army couldn’t let the young gun, Yashasvi Jaiswal, from playing another blazing knock. Had Tushar Deshpande didn’t dismiss him, he and Buttler would have given another fiery start to RR’s innings in the Powerplay. Jaiswal was sent into packing in the second over after he scored 10 runs from eight balls.
However, Devdutt Padikkal and Jos Buttler tried to steady the ship for a while when Ravindra Jadeja‘s delivery broke the stand in the ninth over. Padikkal became Jadeja’s victim and departed after scoring 38 runs from 26 balls.
Skipper Sanju Samson couldn’t play another crucial knock for the team this time when Jadeja in that same over dismissed him for a duck. Then Ravichandran Ashwin and Buttler kept playing slowly for a while. When Ashwin tried to open his arms for big shots, he became Akash Singh’s victim after scoring 30 runs from 22 balls.
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Check Twitter’s reactions to Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer’s knocks
RR are heavily dependent on the star English opener Jos Buttler. The team won most of its matches when Buttler scored his half-century. Had he stayed at the crease for a few more overs, he and Shimron Hetmyer would have taken the Royals to a 200-plus total.
But Moeen Ali, who had success against Buttler in the past, again sent his compatriot back to the dugout to the relief of the Chennai side. Buttler exited the field after scoring 52 runs from 36 balls with four and three maximums at a strike rate of 144.44.
The responsibility to take the Pink jersey to a respectable total now landed on Hetmyer’s shoulders. He remained unbeaten after contributing 30 runs from 18 balls with two fours and the same number of sixes to take RR to 175/8 in their 20 overs. Among the CSK bowlers, Akash, Deshpande, and Jadeja got two each, while Moeen got one.
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Gouri Das
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