Gujarat Titans defeated Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets on Sunday thanks to Jos Buttler of England scoring his second consecutive half-century in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash in Lucknow on Sunday.
At the Ekana Stadium, Buttler scored 60 off 37 balls and shared 84 runs for the second wicket with captain Shubman Gill (56) as GT chased down 165 with eight balls to spare.
Buttler overcame a protracted slump that included a dismal T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka with a performance which was packed with 11 fours, following his game-winning 52 in GT’s last match.
“(I have) Been through a lean patch last couple of months but nice to get some good games. A few technical issues crept into my game which were actually not allowing me to see the ball so well. So I’ve been focusing on everything pre-delivery. I’ve played for 15 years and I know what to do when I get in,” AFP quoted the 35-year-old Buttler as saying after the win.
As England fell to eventual champions India in the semi-finals of this year’s T20 World Cup last month, Buttler managed just 87 runs in eight games.
Before being dismissed by Mohammed Shami, who took the valuable wicket off a slower ball, Buttler was fluid against pace and spin in Lucknow.
Gill also scored his second consecutive half-century earlier, but LSG’s hopes were boosted by his and Buttler’s wickets in the space of six deliveries. Rahul Tewatia (10) and Washington Sundar (unbeaten 21) maintained composure and led the side home in 18.4 overs.
After being asked to bat first, pace bowler Prasidh Krishna set up GT’s second straight victory with a T20 best of 4/28 to restrict LSG to 164/8.
Aiden Markram led the LSG batsmen in scoring with 30, but they were unable to turn those starts into bigger totals.
