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The Wednesday night fixture of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), held between Rajasthan Royals (RR) faced Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, where the Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab registered a thrilling 5-run triumph.
Punjab went on to post a massive total of 197/4 in 20 overs after scintillating knocks by captain Dhawan (86 no of 56) and Prabhsimran Singh (60 off 34). Rajasthan then managed to take the game down to the wire but fell short only by 5 runs.
One of the biggest talking points from the RR chase was the absence of Jos Buttler at the top, as instead of the England star, all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was sent in the middle to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. The decision raised many eyebrows as it backfired after Ashwin got dismissed for a 4-ball duck.
Buttler eventually entered the match at no.3 but was soon dismissed on 19 (11) by Nathan Ellis. During the post-match press conference, RR captain Sanju Samson revealed the real reason behind the move to send Ashwin at the top.
Samson explained that the decision not to open with Buttler was based on his fitness rather than a tactical move. The RR skipper said that Buttler had suffered an injury scare while fielding. Samson further mentioned that they (RR management) kept Devdutt Padikkal for the middle overs to tackle the spinners.
“Jos had a small injury, he got injured while fielding and was getting stitches. The physio wanted some time, which wasn’t there to finish the stitches and then go out to open,” said Samson while speaking at the post-match press conference.
“The thinking of sending Ashwin (to open) and holding everyone back, thinking to hold Devdutt Padikkal in the middle overs was to specially face the spinners they had. They had a leg-spinner and a left-arm spinner bowling in the middle overs. Padikkal, a left-hander batting in the middle and getting a couple of sixes, was the planning,” added Samson.
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