OPINION
Follow Us“BAGUVIX, FULLCLIP, STATEOFEMERGENCY, SPEEDITUP,” you might have heard all of this if you grew up playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. They were for: Infinite Health, Infinite Ammo, Chaos Mode and Faster gameplay. On Friday at the Wankhede, all of it were on display.
Jos Buttler is that cheat code which combines all the four into one. One that makes the final boss look like a minion. But here there was no one final boss. There was Delhi Capitals, a franchise that just the other day made Punjab Kings’ batting prowess look like rookies.
The same Capitals, who possess a lethal attack in the form of Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Lalit Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. Five of whom have performed for the Capitals, day in and day out. Rishabh Pant’s reaction, perhaps summed up the game in perfection.
The Delhi skipper was constantly frustrated over the bowling, over the way his bowlers executed the plan. And Pant’s decision to give the off-spinner four overs made him underutilize Axar. Barring Thakur, none of the Delhi bowlers managed to contain the free-flow of runs at the Wankhede.
It was that sort of knock from Buttler. Thrice this year, he has scored a century, let that sink in. For reference, in 2016, Virat Kohli scored four centuries during his IPL record: 973 run-season.
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Just hours after the tickets were up for the clash, they were sold out. It was at a lightning speed with which it got sold out. And it wasn’t a Mumbai Indians fixture or a Chennai Super Kings’ fixture. There were tickets being sold at thrice the price at the Azad Maidan, perhaps people saw something? Perhaps there was some value?
They were definitely there to see that something: the phenomenon of Buttler.
The jerseys sold at the Maidan might need a change, instead of Samson, it would have Buttler’s name on it. The Englishman isn’t a new to the Wankhede faithful. He had multiple times in the past, fired the cannonball to all parts of the ground. Buttler though isn’t just another player, he is an experience.
Perhaps the next time he plays, the tickets could be sold as ‘The Experience of Jos Buttler’. Around 20km away from the Buttler magic, there was a packed crowd around the Capital Social in Bandra East. While most of them were enjoying their Friday night, they all stopped their dance, their Instagram stories and their karaoke to give a standing ovation for Buttler.
He brought up a century in the most anticlimactic of manner, with a double. The numbers are out there, three IPL centuries this season, 491 runs, an average of 81.83, a strike-rate of 161.51, with 41 fours and 32 sixes. But more than that, it is the feeling of euphoria every time you watch the Englishman.
Sport is all about bringing happiness on people’s face. Buttler did exactly that, even the few who did not watch a lot of cricket inside the Social were awestruck. The applause was thunderous and so was the knock, it was perhaps what defines T20 cricket the best: entertainment.
The 31-year-old smiled, swatted in style and more importantly, stayed super composed. After every six, he walked back, stood and waited for the next meal. His head is in the box, the box which AB de Villiers most famously talked about, which gives the right-hander complete control over where to place the ball.
It wasn’t until a century before he brought any sort of emotion, a smile and a wave to the crowd. And it wasn’t just him smiling but there were millions of cricketing fans too. Amidst the chaos of Buttler, there was Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson. In Padikkal, Buttler might have finally found an opening partner who is calm to his storm.
Samson, throughout this season has taken pressure on himself to keep the scoring rate going but tonight he was relentless. He picked up the pace of the game way before he even walked out to bat. Samson understood the situation perfectly and went for the big shots right from the word go.
At the end of a mammoth 19 deliveries, he scored 46, striking at 242.11, further strengthening a case for himself in the T20 World Cup squad. It isn’t just numbers at the end of the day, it is what the right-hander could bring into the Indian setup.
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36 runs off the last over, Obed McCoy steamed to bowl the over. Rovman Powell, who hasn’t thus far made any sort of impact with the bat, on the strike. Three sixes, a controversial decision later and a really angry Delhi Capitals camp storming later, Rajasthan won a thriller. Maybe Delhi had a point but even if they did have one, the ugly scenes at the end of the game was uncalled for.
“Everyone was frustrated (in the dugout) that it was not even close, everyone in the ground saw that, I think the third umpire should have interfered and said it was a no-ball. Obviously, it wasn't right (sending Amre onto the field) but what happened with us is also not right, it happened in the heat of the moment,” reflected Delhi skipper Pant later.
But all the damage was done earlier in the day, it was four cheat codes combined into one: Buttler, which turned the game upside down for the Capitals.
