Shaun Pollock and Michael Vaughan, both former cricketers, have commented on the lack of aggression shown by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Jos Buttler in their 10-run loss against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) when chasing a low target of 154 runs. Vaughan believed the RR should have pushed harder early in response to Jos Buttler’s sluggish scoring rate.
The Royals came up just short of their target despite a disciplined bowling performance that kept the LSG limited to only 154 runs. Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal put up 87 runs for the first wicket in 11.1 overs, but the rest of the batting order couldn’t follow accordingly, leaving the team with a difficult challenge.
Vaughan told the press that it was strange for Jos Buttler to score only 40 runs off 41 balls and that he had noticed that Ravichandran Ashwin and Dhruv Jurel had to face a minimal number of deliveries.
“Rajasthan could have won. They weren’t aggressive enough. This is quite unlike Jos Buttler, who scored only 40 runs off 41 balls. The match might have been more intriguing if Dhruv Jurel had not been dismissed on the opening ball after nearly hitting a six. Ashwin only faced a couple of deliveries upon entering the pitch. The chase would have been more thrilling if they had pushed harder earlier. They were counting on one of the top two batters to carry them to 18 and 19 overs, hoping to make a cameo.
Pollock agreed that batting wasn’t easy on the surface, but he lauded the LSG bowlers for their ability to hit the lengths while bowling.
“It surprised me because the team must have known beforehand that batsmen stepping up to the pitch would have difficulty adjusting to the surface’s slower pace and getting a good swing on the ball. LSG knew the lengths and hit them to the surface. The odd one was holding on, and the odd one was skidding through.”
Even the Lucknow Super Giants, who scored 82 runs for the first wicket partnership, struggled after losing their third and fourth batters for single-digit scores. The combined efforts of Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis added 45 runs as they struggled to reach 154 runs.
Jos Buttler and Yashashvi Jaiswal couldn’t keep up: Pollock
Pollock, remarking on the RR’s batting performance, said the openers should have taken advantage of the powerplay overs to give the other batters time to adjust to the rugged surface. He continued
“In those situations, you want a significant powerplay batting performance because you go ahead of the run rate, and then if you do lose a wicket or two, the batsmen coming in have got those three or four deliveries to get themselves in simply. They didn’t lose wickets but couldn’t keep up with the run rate. Jaiswal scored 44 runs off 45 balls when he got out, and Jos Buttler scored 35 runs off 35 balls in that time. The two weren’t scoring at a high and sufficient run rate. No one pulled the trigger even though someone should have.”
RR may have lost, but they are still in first place in the points table, with LSG in second place.