'Sometimes you just got to swallow your ego' - Jos Buttler on his struggling start against Gujarat Titans

Rajasthan Royals batter Jos Buttler played yet another scintillating knock in a high-pressure encounter against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2022 playoffs. The Englishman struggled for the major part of the powerplay and he also had a bit of a torrid time in the second half of the league stages. The Orange Cap holder, however, stuck in the crease, fought it through and cashed upon the latter part of the innings.

The right-hander finished with a 56-ball 89 that included 12 fours and two sixes and helped his side massively while posting a big total on the board. He did survive luckily after a catch was dropped, but the Gujarat Titans paid heavily for it as he teed off towards the final stages of the innings. However, Gujarat Titans chased down the target with three balls to spare on the back of an excellent partnership between David Miller and Hardik Pandya.

I was determined to hang in there: Jos Buttler

Buttler mentioned his struggles in the early part of the innings and explained his innings progression including playing second fiddle to skipper Sanju Samson who played a sublime knock as well. He added about the determination to hang in at the crease as he lost his mojo in the last few games and noted removing his ego as well. It did work out really well and Buttler’s innings provided the perfect finish to RR’s first innings.

“I was finding it tough to start with. Then Sanju came in and was playing fantastically well from ball one, so tried to get him back on strike for a bit. He took a lot off me. It wasn’t my most fluent innings, but I tried to hang in tough and stay in there, get a bit at the end and ride my luck,” said Buttler as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“What I tried to do is just hang in there. I know at some point I trust myself to get away. Today it came very late in the innings, sometimes you hope it comes early. But I was determined to hang in there. It was a big game for us and batting first I wanted to make sure we put a good score on the board. Sometimes you just got to swallow your ego; if you’re finding it hard, you’re finding it hard. Not to try and force it too much. Don’t panic. I know the opposition will prefer me to panic and get out so I just try and hang in there, bide my time and pick a match-up when I get it,” he added.