[Watch] Jos Buttler falls cheaply to his nemesis Rashid Khan in RR-GT IPL 2024 clash
Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jos Buttler could not back up his breathtaking century from the previous game as he fell for a 10-ball 8 against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Jaipur on April 10.
To further worsen matters, Buttler fell to his chief nemesis Rashid Khan for a fourth time in the IPL. A staggering statistic demonstrates Rashid's wood on Buttler, with the batter scoring only 30 runs off 50 balls against the Afghan spinner with no boundaries and four dismissals in the cash-rich league. It was also the fifth instance of Rashid dismissing Buttler in overall T20s.
On this occasion, Jos Buttler was lured into a drive off a leg-spinner from Rashid, only to nick it to Rahul Tewatia at first slip.
Here is a video of the Buttler wicket:
After a slow start to his IPL 2024 campaign, Buttler scored an emphatic 58-ball century in RR's latest win against RCB.
However, the England white-ball skipper has struggled otherwise, with only 43 runs in the other four innings at an average of under 11. Buttler enjoyed his best IPL season in 2022, scoring 863 runs and winning the Orange Cap as RR reached the final.
Yet, the destructive batter did not enjoy consistent success in last year's IPL, with an average of only 28 and four half-centuries in 14 games.
"Have a very good relationship with Sanju" - Jos Buttler
Ahead of the GT clash, Jos Buttler spoke glowingly about his relationship with skipper Sanju Samson ahead of the latter's 50th match as RR captain. The duo has been playing together for RR since IPL 2018.
After a disappointing 2023 season where they missed the playoffs after an excellent start, RR has bounced back in style, winning all four games thus far.
Before the start of play, Buttler spoke to the local broadcasters about the happy state of the side overall and his relationship with Samson.
"Have a very good relationship with Sanju (Samson) I played with him for a long time here and there's a nice level of trust there and trying to help out if I can and where I can. The feeling is great in the group, lots of different individuals standing up and playing well for the team throughout the four games has been the key for our success," said Buttler
Before the dismissal of Buttler, RR also lost his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal for a quick-fire 19-ball 24. However, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag have staged a recovery with a half-century partnership that has RR well-placed at 100/2 in 13 overs.