RR's Jos Buttler registers fourth duck of IPL 2023

RAJASTHAN: Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jos Buttler on Sunday joined a list of unfortunate players who have registered four ducks in a single season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The England batter registered this unwanted record to his name during his side’s IPL 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter.

In the match, Buttler was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Wayne Parnell.

The other batters who have had four ducks in a single IPL season previously are: Herchelle Gibbs (Deccan Chargers, 2009), Mithun Manhas (Pune Warriors India, 2011), Manish Pandey (Pune Warriors India, 2012), Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals, 2020), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2021) and Nicholas Pooran (Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2021).

In the ongoing season, Buttler has scored 392 runs in 13 matches at an average of 30.15 and a strike rate of 141.00, with a total of four half-centuries.

Buttler has faced problems scoring during run chases this year, having scores of 19,0,40,0,0,0 to his name while chasing.

Coming to the match, RCB posted 171/5 in their 20 overs after electing to bat first. Openers Virat Kohli (18) and skipper Faf Du Plessis (55 in 44 balls) put on a half-century stand for the first wicket.

Then, du Plessis joined forces with Glenn Maxwell (54 in 33 balls) to up the attack, putting on a stand of 69 runs for the second wicket.

After some quick wickets, a cameo from Anuj Rawat (29* in 11 balls) helped RCB reach a competitive total.

Adam Zampa (2/25) and KM Asif (2/42) were the pick of the bowlers for RR.

Chasing 172, RR never looked like a threat and RCB bowlers made pressure on them right from the first ball. Though Shimron Hetmyer (35) tried to put up a fight, none of the other batters could last long, with Joe Root (10) failing to score well while batting for the first time in IPL. RR was bundled out for 59 runs in 10.3 overs, the third-lowest total in IPL history.

Wayne Parnell (3/10) was the top bowler for RCB. Michael Bracewell (2/16) and Karn Sharma (2/19) also impressed. Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell picked a wicket each.

Parnell clinched the ‘Man of the Match’ for his spell.

With this win, RCB has climbed to the fifth spot in the table with six wins, six losses and 12 points. Their playoff hopes are alive. RR has slipped to sixth with six wins, seven losses and 12 points. Their playoff chances are slim.