Buttler, Beauty, Brains, Brawn
Jos Buttler has scored more fours (41) than maximums (32) and leads the Orange Cap race with 491 runs in seven games
Jos Buttler has scored more fours (41) than maximums (32) and leads the Orange Cap race with 491 runs in seven games

“WHAT is the percentage of his boundaries?” asked Derek Pringle of Jos Buttler’s run-scoring spree this IPL. There is a perception that the boundaries are an index to a batter’s class. The sixes are more of brawn than brain, grace or style. In Buttler’s case, it is all – class, style and power.

Buttler currently leads the Orange Cap race with 491 runs in seven games. The second best, KL Rahul, has managed just about half of those runs (265) in as many games. The English batter, who scored his third century of the season on Friday (April 22), the second in a row, had nine fours and as many sixes in his knock of 116 which propelled Rajasthan Royals to a 15-run win. But overall, he has more fours (41) than maximums (32), a clear pointer that he is not all about brawn.

“He is not somebody like Kieron Pollard, who is full of muscle. Buttler has got muscles in the right place. He has got bat speed. He is obviously somebody who has got low central gravity and therefore he can get under the ball easily.

To be honest he is talented. I regret that he is not a better Test player,” the former England all-rounder said.
There is a method to Buttler’s batting and it is not only just about hitting boundaries and sixes, which the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav and Lalit Yadav should be able to testify. “When you and I played, the coach would say get on top of the ball and keep it down. Now they say, get under the ball and get it up,” said Pringle of the changing coaching methods. But as the stats show, Buttler can get under the ball as well as over it.

“He plays according to the situation. I am not sure what I can say because he is been exceptional for us,” said Royals coach Kumar Sangakkara. “The way he has batted, the way he has contributed for the side, and the way he constructed innings, sometimes going hard early, sometimes fighting his way through the tough situation when the ball is doing something.

The key to his innings is he gives himself the best chance, he reads the game well and he picks his bowlers. And then he bats deep. There is nothing more than a side can ask from a player like Jos,” the Sri Lankan legend said.
After the win at the Wankhede, Rajasthan Royals are on the top of table with 10 points. Having held on to Buttler as No. 2 retention for the side, after skipper Sanju Samson, the Englishman has proved that he could be the best value for money this season. There is no other retention of the year which has been as effective.

There is every chance Buttler would overhaul Virat Kohli’s 2016 record of 973 runs in a season (16 games) which included four hundreds.
“He is a supreme games player,” Pringle said. “When he was in school, he would have played many games. That makes him a fantastic white ball batter. He has got great hand-eye coordination. I still think he has something to offer there (in Tests). He is very good at keeping. He has no confidence in his defensive technique.” Against Delhi Capitals bowlers, Buttler exhibited all the timings and bat power that Pringle mentions.

“I am enjoying the best form of my life,” said Buttler after receiving the Player-of-the-Match award. “I need to continue with this form all the way through. The ball swung in the first over and it was a bit tricky. You need to soak up that pressure and come through it. Once you get through it, the confidence comes back.” (Cricbuzz)

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