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IPL 2018 | The pair of Archer and Butler has been central in reviving RR's dwindling fortunes, believes Kris Srikkanth

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Krishnamachari Srikkanth has highly acknowledged the contribution of both Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler in RR's third consecutive victory which has given them a good chance for a playoffs berth. The former Indian opener has also pointed out that the encounter between RR and KKR will be a vital one.

Rajasthan Royals’ comeback from the seventh to the fourth position with hat-trick wins have become the talk of the IPL this year. The franchise are now settled with 12 points from 12 matches and now look like a team to be reckoned with. Especially, two of their star picks have proved to be pivotal in changing the fortunes of the team. First of all, Jos Buttler’s promotion to the opening slot, which paid off as the Englishman looked in ominous touch with five consecutive half-centuries and apart from that Jofra Archer’s brilliance with the ball also rattled out the opposition batsmen.

On Sunday, in a must-win game, against defending champions Mumbai Indians, Archer took the wickets of Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma off successive deliveries, which was the reason of Mumbai could only manage to post 168/6, and later it was chased down with two overs remaining thanks to Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 94. Talking about the performance of both of them, Srikkanth, in his column for Times of India, highly acknowledged the individual brilliance and termed them as the game changer for Rajasthan Royals this season.

“The combination of Archer and Butler has been central in reviving Rajasthan’s dwindling fortunes. It will only be right if both are paid equal credit. To bowl four overs for 16 runs in a high scoring game deserves special mention. The 14 dot balls from Archer were instrumental in keeping Mumbai in check and that, in my opinion, gave Rajasthan a target they could hunt down,” wrote Srikkanth, who captained India in four Test matches and 13 ODIs.

The 1983 World Cup-winning team member also remarked that the art of fast bowling to rush down towards batsman and creating fear in his mind is the best thing to watch out for in cricket. 

“There is no sight more endearing in cricket than a fast bowler rushing in and hurrying the best of batsmen with sheer pace. Unfortunately, bowlers don’t get the same adulation as batsmen and Jofra Archer must be thinking what more should he be doing to gain a piece of the limelight, one that has entirely belonged to Buttler.”

For the Royals, Jos Buttler, once again, led from the front with an amazing 94-run innings - his fifth consecutive half-century in the tournament - to give the inaugural edition champions a comfortable seven-wicket win to pick up two crucial points for his side. After watching the innings, Srikkanth looked impressed and praised the England wicketkeeper-batsman’s ability to close out matches.

“Making him return to the top was easily the best call from the team think tank. The Englishman is in the form of his life, but what separates him from the rest is his ability to finish matches. To bat through two successful chases is no mean task and he has achieved that without breaking a sweat,” wrote Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

Rajasthan will play the crucial encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders today (May 15) at Eden Gardens. Giving his insights on the match, Srikkanth wrote that the match is going to be a virtual quarter-final and expressed his concern over RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s form with the willow.

“Tuesday’s clash against Kolkata will be another virtual quarter-final for Rajasthan. On current form, both units look good. In my opinion, the only weakness with Rajasthan is the strike power of Ajinkya Rahane. Batting at the top and going at a strike rate of 122 is not helping his team’s cause,” he described.

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