IPL 2022, SRH vs RR: Can Sunrisers Hyderabad Take Advantage Of This Jos Buttler Weakness?

With Rajasthan Royals (RR) set to begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign on Tuesday, Jos Buttler will be aiming to play a talismanic role against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The wicketkeeper-batter has always found it hard to perform against SRH but managed to break the jinx in IPL 2021. Last season, his knock of 124 runs against SRH was his first score of 30+ in nine innings against the franchise. In his previous eight innings against the team, the Englishman aggregated 73 runs at a strike rate of 94.81. The primary reason for the 31-year-old's failure against SRH was the presence of Rashid Khan, who has taken his wicket thrice which is the most by a bowler in IPL. In general, he has also found it difficult to play against leg spinners.

Buttler's strike rate against bowlers in IPL is the slowest against leg spinners. In 32 innings, he has registered 220 runs off 173 balls against leg spinners at a strike rate of 127.2 and he has also been dismissed on 11 occasions.

Compared to other bowlers, Buttler more time to hit boundaries against leggies and this is a clear sign of the Englishman's weakness against this form of bowling

With Afghan spinner Rashid joining new franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) after IPL 2021, focus will be on Shreyas Gopal and Abdul Samad to trouble Buttler on Tuesday.

Having been released by RR after IPL 2021, Gopal joined SRH for Rs 75 lakh during the mega auction this year. In 48 IPL games, the Karnataka cricketer has taken 48 wickets including a four-wicket haul.

Meanwhile, young Abdul Samad has become an integral part of SRH since his arrival in the IPL 2020 auction. The all-rounder is also a leg spinner and hasn't been much of a bowler during his fledgling IPL career. In 23 matches, he has only managed to bag two dismissals.

But if SRH are to do well against RR, they need to keep Royals' strong batting line-up quiet.

Topics mentioned in this article

Sunrisers Hyderabad Rajasthan Royals Jos Buttler Rashid Khan IPL 2022 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 5 Cricket