Dhoni Is Good But Jos Buttler Is Better, Says Australia Captain Tim Paine

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is better than MS Dhoni, feels Australia captain Tim Paine. Buttler is in the form of his life and single-handedly dug England out of a precarious situation against Australia in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at Old Trafford, Manchester. Buttler struck a calculated century (110 off 122 balls) to help his team reach the target of 206 in just 48.3 overs after England's top batting line-up failed miserably. Following his match winning knock, Paine showered praise on the English batsman and said that Buttler is the best white-ball wicketkeeper batsman in the world right now and better than MS Dhoni.

"He's (Buttler) good, he's very good. Right now, he'd have to be the best white-ball wicket-keeper batsman in the world," Paine said.

"I don't think there's too many guys to challenge him. MS Dhoni is pretty good, but at this moment, Jos is at the absolute peak of his powers," the Australian wicketkeeper batsman remarked.

"He understands his one-day game so well and knows his strengths inside out and just doesn't go away from him," Paine further added.

Buttler, adjudged man of the match and man of the series, scored 275 runs in the just-concluded 5-match ODI series with three unbeaten knocks that included scores of 91, 54 and 110.

This victory saw England complete their first 5-0 series sweep of Australia in any format in more than 140 years of international men's matches between the arch-rivals. Set just 206 to win, England slumped to 50 for five and 114 for eight.

They were still 11 runs shy of victory at 195 for nine when Adil Rashid (20), who had helped Buttler add 81, was dismissed to leave England 195 for nine. But Buttler stood tall and helped his team reach the target by slamming Marcus Stoinis for a boundary.

(With IANS Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team India Cricket Team Jos Buttler MS Dhoni Cricket Tim Paine