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IPL 2020: ‘Buttler no less than AB de Villiers or Pollard, lucky to have him’, says Steve Smith

Jos Buttler’s magnificent innings rescued Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday night in Abu Dhabi. In pursuit of a 126-run target, RR went through a top-order collapse and lost 3 batsman under 28 runs. Buttler showcased his excellence with an unbeaten 70-run knock off just 48 balls, leading the Royals to a comfortable 7-wicket against MS Dhoni & Co.

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Following these heroics, the English wicketkeeper-batsman garnered praises from the RR skipper as well. During the post-match presser, Steve Smith stated that Buttler is second to none when it comes to winning games at the back-end.

“He is second to none. We are lucky to have him. He has got so much versatility in his batting,” Smith said in the post-match press conference.

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Buttler usually bat at top of the order, rather considered as an opener. However, he was sent to bat at number five in the CSK face-off. Smith explained that he took that decision so as to balance the line-up.

“It’s an interesting one. Jos is an unbelievable player at the top. He has the ability to do things that ABD and Pollards and (Hardik) Pandya do. Those players win you games at back-end,” Smith said.

“This conversation is difficult (to drop him in batting order) but it provides stability in the middle,” he added.

Smith and Buttler stitched an unbeaten 98-run stand to guide RR to victory against CSK. Commenting on his partnership with Jos Buttler, the RR captains said, “The wicket was not ideal. I was trying to form a partnership. Jos can score at a good rate. There was no need to take any risk, just form a partnership, put the foot down and get the victory and two points in the end. He (Buttler) came out with a positive mindset…. hit the ball nice and hard and made things easy for me at the other end.”

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Rajasthan Royals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next fixture on October 22 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Source: IPLT20.com

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