IPL 2018 | Expect myself and Stokes to perform well in the middle, says Jos Buttler

Sitting on sixth spot on the points table, Rajasthan has only managed to win 3 games out of 7 they have played so far. Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane at the top have been steady at the top, but he middle order of the team Rajasthan hasn’t clicked, which is a huge headache for them. 

The onus to carry the team through the middle overs has been on Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, but both have not been able to deliver. Buttler has scored only 120 runs in 7 matches, while his English teammate Ben Stokes, who was the most expensive buy in this years’ auction, has only scored 147 runs in 7 matches and is yet to justify his 12.5 crore price tag.   

Reflecting the poor performance of Rajasthan in the middle, Buttler stated that the individuals need to step up and do the job.  

“It just comes down to individuals. We haven’t quite performed in the middle as we would have liked,” said Buttler ahead of their match against Delhi Daredevils.

In the last game against SRH, RR failed to chase an ordinary score of 151 and lost by 11 runs, which was disappointing, given the big names in their batting lineup. Buttler expected himself and Stokes to do the job for the team but was disappointed to not see his team through to victory.

“Myself and Ben Stokes really expected ourselves to come in and play that role. That was probably the biggest shame for us in the last game. I haven’t given an account of myself that I should have. And that’s disappointing. A lot of it comes down to individual accountability,” Buttler said.

Buttler felt that Rajasthan has not quite played to their potential and will have to make amends for that in the second half of the tournament. He also pointed out that their fielding has not been up to the mark, which they would like to improve in the matches to come. 

“We haven’t quite played to our potential. We have got a second half of the tournament to try and amend that. Fielding is a huge part of the game and we have been guilty of missing chances. That’s definitely an area where we need to improve on, get ourselves up on the table and be more consistent,” said Buttler.

Buttler also added that they could turn things around and could together stage a comeback for the team. 

“We stay tight as a group. It might take one slice of luck to kickstart the tournament. We are still in a position where we can play good cricket and qualify for the later stages,” he said.