IPL 2022 | Rajasthan Royals seeks another Buttler show versus Chennai Super Kings to clinch play-off spot
The Hindu
A win will take Sanju Samson's men to 18 points and help them steer clear of any permutations or combinations for a top-four finish
Having gone off the boil in the last few games, Jos Buttler would be eagerly waiting to pounce on an inexperienced Chennai Super Kings attack in order to clinch a play-off berth for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai on Friday.
A win will take Sanju Samson's men to 18 points and help them steer clear of any permutations or combinations for a top-four finish.
In fact a win will ensure a top-two finish for Royals as they will then enjoy a superior Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.304 compared to Lucknow Super Giants' +0.251.
In this backdrop, Royals would like to turn the heat on a lacklustre CSK, who can turn out to be 'party poopers' in their final game.
To prevent that, Buttler, who is currently leading the batters' chart with 627 runs, will need to do better than register scores of 22, 30, 7, 2 -- his contribution in the last four games.
The Royals' success in the tournament has got a lot to do with brilliant starts from Buttler, who has three hundreds and as many fifties -- most of his runs were scored during the first half of the tournament -- and Yuzvendra Chahal's 24 wickets.
While Chahal has maintained his consistency, in the case of Buttler there has been a slight dip in form but the last league game is an ideal time to up the ante before the play-offs.
Asian Games champion Avinash Sable opened his season in the 3000m steeple chase with a silver in the Portland Track Festival, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Oregon on Saturday. He clocked 8:21.85s. Asian champion Parul Chaudhary took the bronze in the women’s 3000m steeple chase in a season-best 9:31.38s. Former Asian bronze medallist Sanjivani Jadhav struck gold in the women’s 10,000m in 32:22.77s, a time which was a second off her personal best, while Seema was sixth in 32:55.91s.