‘High time someone else takes responsibility’: Unadkat says Buttler needs support from RR batters

Rajasthan Royals’s medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat conceded that except for Jos Buttler, the rest of the team’s batsmen have not been up to the task in the Indian Premier League.

Buttler’s superb unbeaten 60-ball 95 on Friday guided the Royals to a four-wicket win over CSK, who posted 176/4 on the board after winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, apart from the Englishman, no other Rajasthan batter crossed 22 runs.

Buttler has scored 415 runs in 11 matches for the Royals this season at an average of just over 46. Apart from him, only Sanju Samson (353 runs in 11 matches at 35.30) comes even remotely close.

“That’s true, I think Jos has been taking the innings forward on his own in the last four innings and it is time for someone to step up in middle order,” Unadkat said, after his team’s four-wicket win on Friday kept them alive in the race to the playoffs.

“It is high time that someone else takes responsibility. They were getting starts and played well in the middle and hit a few sixes, otherwise Jos could not have pulled it off alone. But more contribution in the middle would be welcome and we need more of them at this time of tournament.”

Rajasthan captain Ajinkya Rahane has struggle with the bat, managing only 243 runs in 11 matches, but Unadkat did not read much into it. “Rahane is a class player and has won matches on his own,” the medium pacer said.

“He has been a special player for Rajasthan Royals and is captaining the side very well. It is about time that he plays a special innings. These things help when you are through a rough patch but we will soon see a special innings from him.”

Asked whether the absence of Steve Smith as a result of the ball-tampering scandal was pinching Rajasthan Royals hard as their batting looks brittle, Unadkat said it was no use ruing about the absence of any player.

“We have done fair to ourselves in this tournament,” he said. “We have been good in patches, extraordinary in patches and bad in patches as well. Of course [Smith] is a world-class player and world-class leader in himself but we cannot keep on ruing his absence.

“The combination of team is coming right at this point and that is what is important for us. Other than just ruing about not having a player I feel it is our responsibility as seniors in the team to see that everyone is in good space, the atmosphere is good and that will allow the youngsters to come up and do well for the team.”

On the 12 extras, including 10 wides, being conceded by Rajasthan’s bowlers, Unadkat said they have to be more careful. “Having said that, it happens because the bowlers keep trying the same things or sometimes trying to execute certain plans,” he said. “But in T20 cricket, restricting the extras would certainly give cushion for extra 10-20 runs. It was those runs which helped CSK reach 176 otherwise their total was par.”

Buttler ‘a class apart’

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming also praised Buttler for his match-winning knock, saying the English batsman was a class apart.

Fleming said his team’s plan was to get Buttler and Ben Stokes, who opened RR’s innings, out early but were successful only with the all-rounder. “We got Stokes early but could not get Buttler who settled down nicely, got the momentum in the first six overs,” Fleming said after the match.

“We had a lot of plan for him, left-arm spin was one of them we were looking at but they did not work. Buttler was a class apart on a difficult track. He batted through the innings. Had we got him earlier the result could have been different,” he added.

Fleming also rued that his side could not capitalise on the chances they got. “The game was pretty even after the Powerplay when we got two wickets,” he said. “We were hoping that the pitch will get slow and then our slow bowlers would get some purchase. But we realised that back of the length the medium pacers were getting more success. We began playing for the condition of the pitch rather than the plans for Buttler.”

Asked about the performance of his bowlers, Fleming said, “Yes, it could have been better, they could have been more accurate. But it was under pressure because of the way [Buttler] played. It was a difficult wicket and we were happy with the total we had and I feel it was par. It was Buttler batting through the innings and get the momentum that decided the match.”

With inputs from PTI