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England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler found form at the Indian Premier League before winning the match for Gujarat Titans with a final-ball run-out in a remarkable one-run victory over Delhi Capitals.<\/b><\/p>\n
Buttler, who had gone 18 innings without a fifty including his difficult run at the T20 World Cup, looked closer to his best form in hitting 52 from 27 balls in Gujarat’s 210-4.<\/p>\n
He struck five sixes, including one trademark scoop and a towering six over long-on, before being dismissed in the eighth over.<\/p>\n
But his influence was not done there as he ran out Kuldeep Yadav – throwing down the stumps with an underarm effort from his position as keeper – as the India spinner and David Miller tried to scamper a single from the final ball with two runs needed.<\/p>\n
South Africa international Miller had hit two sixes and two fours in the 19th over before clearing the ropes again in the last, only to turn down a single with two balls to go and then miss seamer Prasidh Krishna’s bouncer to finish.<\/p>\n
A crestfallen Miller finished 41 not out from 20 balls while opener KL Rahul made 92.<\/p>\n
“Amazing,” Buttler said. “Great to get the win. It was a very lucky throw but I am delighted. <\/p>\n
“We desperately needed a win and I am glad we manage to sneak through.”<\/p>\n
Buttler’s fifty was his first across formats since a 97 not out in the SA20 in early January. <\/p>\n
He averaged 10.9 across eight matches at the T20 World Cup and made 38 from 33 balls and a 14-ball 26 in his previous innings at this year’s IPL.<\/p>\n
Here his first runs came with a six over long-on and he followed by hitting India spinner Axar Patel for four over extra cover and another six over long-on.<\/p>\n
He then scooped and drove seamer Mukesh Kumar as Gujarat took 63 from the first five overs. India Test captain Shubman Gill also hit 70 from 45 balls and all-rounder Washington Sundar 55 from 32.<\/p>\n
“I have been searching for [runs] a little but felt in good touch since I have been here,” Buttler said.<\/p>\n
“I have played long enough to know that it will come back at some point.”<\/p>\n
The former England captain was bowled by a ball from Kuldeep which skidded low, but the knock was an encouraging return for one of England’s greatest white-ball players, whose place in the national side came under scrutiny during the World Cup.<\/p>\n
His tournament included a run of five single-figure scores but England stuck with him throughout their run to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
He averaged 17.9 over 30 international innings across formats this winter.<\/p>\n
After the IPL, Buttler will play in the T20 Blast for Lancashire before England’s first white-ball matches of the summer against India in July.<\/p>\n
England’s focus switches to the 50-over format this summer with the next World Cup the one-day international edition in the autumn of 2027.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n