Rajasthan’s Buttler gets selective about favourite scoop shot

NEW DELHI (Reuters): Jos Buttler says he has not fallen out of love with his trademark scoop shot and is merely being a little more choosy about when he plays it after the opener helped Rajasthan Royals to a winning start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.

Rajasthan’s top three batters smashed fifties to power the 2008 champions to a commanding 203-5 against hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad, who managed 131-8 in reply. England white-ball captain Buttler blasted a 22-ball 54 and raised 85 runs with fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (54) before Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson (55) joined the party.

Buttler’s knock, which earned him the Player of the Match award, included three sixes but his high-risk, high-reward scoop shot was conspicuous by its absence.

“It’s always my favourite shot. I’ll try and play it as much as I can,” the 32-year-old told team mate Yuzvendra Chahal in a post-match video after their 72-run victory.

“Unless I feel 100% to go for it, I don’t try.

“Today I felt like I did not need it as much. It was not a situation where to try it, so I didn’t.” Buttler’s form at the top of the batting order will be crucial to England’s hopes of retaining their 50-overs World Cup title in India in October-November.

“Some good nerves coming into the match, the last season feels a long time ago,” Buttler said. “Started fresh and managed to get a nice partnership going with Yash (Jaiswal). We put pressure on the bowlers from the start which is fantastic.”

Rajasthan take on Punjab Kings in Guwahati on Wednesday.