Parthiv and I complement each other: Buttler

Buttler scored his first IPL fifty to help his side chase down a mammoth total of 199 against the Glenn Maxwell-led side at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Buttler reached his half-century from 24 deliveries and smashed 77 from 37 balls — including five sixes and seven fours — to set up an eight-wicket win. 

Speaking about his partnership with Parthiv, Buttler said, “We both played our natural games. We complement each other well. He is a short left-hander. He looks to sit back and play square of the wicket and complements me with a different style at the other end. 

“It is great fun to bat with a very calm guy. It is great that we managed to put a big partnership,” he added in an interview to the tournament’s website. Mumbai raced to 123 for 1 in 10 overs as Buttler brought up his fifty. He eventually fell for 77 which is also his highest T20 score. 

Elaborating on the methods he used in the run-chase, Buttler said, “It was very close actually to my natural way of batting. It is nice actually when the opposition scores big; (then) you know you have only one way to take the game on. From the outset I was really looking to play my shots and kick on so that’s a very natural way of batting — see ball, hit ball.” 

Young sensation Nitish Rana (37 of 18 balls) also shared an 85-run stand with Buttler to help his side cross the line.

Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews on Friday said that misfiring Delhi Daredevils have the ability to beat formidable Mumbai Indians when they meet in here on Saturday.

“Mumbai have been playing extremely good cricket, as was the case against KXIP on Thursday. We certainly can beat them and we have the skill and firepower to do it,” said Mathews. The win over Punjab was Mumbai’s fifth on the trot in six games and that has placed them at the top of the table. On the other hand, Delhi are struggling with three loses from five outings. 

“If you look at the last five-six games Mumbai have played, they have been on a roll, home or away. It’s a tough ask but we have the firepower to do it. It’s just that we need to click,” Mathews insisted. 

Sri Lanka’s limited overs skipper pointed out how the Daredevils, who have lost three games including the last two, had come close to crossing the finish line. “All our games were very close, but could not pull it off. Next time we should be able to do it, if we come close,” he said optimistically. Even in the previous game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad, Daredevils made a brave effort to overhaul 192- run target but failed, and Mathews praised the rival bowlers. 

“If you watch the last game it’s really hard to explain what went wrong. Credit should go to Bhuvi and other bowlers. They bowled yorkers and did not give us anything to hit,” he said. Mathews conceded that the team did not have sufficient big names in batting, but said Delhi were playing as a unit. “We do not have many superstars in our team, but we have got a good set of players who can win games and that’s all matters. We have played as a team right though,” Mathews added.