IPL 2016: Jos Buttler thinks Rohit Sharma's calm presence helped him to settle down
England cricketer Jos Buttler said that his Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma’s calm presence in the field lifted his confidence as he played a vital part in his team’s six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.
Buttler played a destructive knock of 41 of just 22 balls as Mumbai Indians bounced back from their defeat in the tournament opener. But it was the MI captain, who was the star of the night with his unbeaten innings of 84.
Also read: 5 memorable moments from the MI-KKR match
The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman credited Rohit for calming him down. He said, "It's great to have Rohit at the other end. He's a very calm character. He had everything under control and the way he was playing he obviously had a lot of confidence that he will be there until the end and win the game.
That obviously rubbed off on me that he was in such good form and was so calm, I think that got the adrenaline going. It really settled me down."
Buttler admitted that the World T20 final loss was a huge disappointment
Earlier this month, Buttler faced had faced heartbreak when England lost the World T20 final against West Indies at the same venue but he said he was happy to be back there after a 10-day break.
"Thanks for reminding me. It's nice to come back and win. Obviously, it was a huge disappointment. We were determined to bounce back well after the first game, that was a fantastic run chase,"
Buttler scored a duck in his debut against Rising Pune Supergiants but he turned it around in style last night smashing a 22-ball 41 in a crucial 66-run partnership with his captain while chasing 188.
He added, "In the World T20 we played at the same venue a couple of times, so obviously did not experience all the conditions. Personally, I've been playing well for a few months.
Coming into the World T20, I had a decent tour to South Africa in ODIs and T20s. Having played my first IPL game and seen what's it all about there was less surprises today. I was sort of more focussed on cricket today as opposed to having that wall factor of the crowd and the razzmatazz of the IPL,"
It was a masterstroke to send in Mitchell McClenaghan
The Englishman also admitted that his team was under pressure at the start of the match yesterday and also applauded Mitchell McClenaghan’s heroics with the bat.
He said, "We thought we were under pressure to perform tonight and they scored a pretty big score. The fantastic opening partnership really laid the foundation to get there till the end, and it was a masterstroke to send in Mitchell McClenaghan. He got a few sixes away it really gave us some momentum.”