The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have seen a swing of fate in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Last year’s finalists have had it all the more difficult in 2023. After a solid start to the season, they lost their track midway through the campaign.
Jos Buttler’s failure is one of the main reasons the Rajasthan Royals do not look the same as last year. The Englishman scored 863 runs in 17 innings in 2022, compared to only 392 in 14 appearances in 2023.
RR had the dream start to the 2023 edition. It looked like the management had solved the jigsaw puzzle, and they looked all set to go one step further from last year. The team won four out of the first five games this season.
That is when everything went downhill for the RRs. They have won only three of the remaining nine matches, ending the group stage in fifth position with fourteen points. As things stand, RR bows out of the competition unless MI lose their final game and RCB lose theirs by a big margin.
And much of that is down on the indifferent form of star opening batsman Jos Buttler who has failed to provide RR with electric starts as was the case last season.
How many ducks has Jos Buttler scored in IPL?
In his career of 96 IPL matches, Buttler has scored “six” ducks. As surprisingly consistent as this may sound, “five” of these ducks have come in the current (2023) IPL season. It implies that from 2016-2022, Jos Buttler opened his account in all matches barring one.
Jos Buttler in the IPL:
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 19, 2023
2016 to 2022 - 1 Duck.
2023 - 5 Ducks. pic.twitter.com/YsdKiI1NhU
With his duck against Punjab Kings on Friday, Buttler has broken an unnecessary record. He has scored the most ducks in a single IPL season - 5. The previous record of four ducks was set in 2009 by Herschelle Gibbs for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC).
Jos Buttler’s failure to step up on the past three occasions might have cost Rajasthan Royals a playoff spot. He has failed to score a single run in the last three matches (KKR, RCB, PBKS). His dip in form came in at the wrong time for the franchise. After scoring 95 against the Sunrisers, it has gone all wrong for Jos Buttler. He would be hoping to turn the tide in the 2024 IPL.
