Sometimes you just got to swallow your ego, if you're finding it hard: Buttler

Jos Buttler scored 89 off 56 deliveries against Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League 2022 but didn't shy away from accepting that this wasn't his "most fluent innings". The opener from England was on 39 off 38 at one stage before smoking 50 off the next 18 deliveries he faced. 

Rajasthan Royals managed 188/6 in their 20 overs, but it wasn't enough, as David Miller and Hardik Pandya shared a 106-run stand for the fourth wicket off 61 balls to propel Gujarat to the final in their very first season.

"I was finding it tough to start with. Then Sanju Samson came in and was playing fantastically well from ball one, so tried to get him back on strike for a bit. He took a lot off me. It wasn't my most fluent innings, but I tried to hang in tough and stay in there, get a bit at the end and ride my luck," said Buttler, who has slammed 718 runs in 15 innings this season.

"What I tried to do is just hang in there. I know at some point I trust myself to get away. Today it came very late in the innings, sometimes you hope it comes early. But I was determined to hang in there. It was a big game for us and batting first I wanted to make sure we put a good score on the board. 

"Sometimes you just got to swallow your ego; if you're finding it hard, you're finding it hard. Not to try and force it too much. Don't panic. I know the opposition will prefer me to panic and get out so I just try and hang in there, bide my time and pick a match-up when I get it."

Trent Boult dismissed Wriddhiman Saha in the first over but Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade managed 35 each to steady the ship before Pandya and Miller took over and got the job done with three deliveries to spare. Prasidh Krishna failed to defend 16 runs in the final over, while R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal both went wicketless. The two spinners conceded 72 runs between them and that made things easier for Pandya and his men.

"Those two guys have been outstanding for us all season. We continue to back them. This is a tough place for bowlers - seam or spin. If you're just a little bit off, it's a very small ground with a very fast outfield. There are lots of boundaries available on this particular ground," said Buttler.

"We knew it's always going to be a little bit tough and bowling second, there was a little bit of dew as well. It's one of the reasons we were desperate to finish in the top two; we're still alive in the tournament and still got a chance. We were disappointed today but we'll dust that off. We're still in the tournament."

The Royals will now play the winner of the Eliminator (Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore) in the Qualifier 2 on Friday.