Delhi Capitals' batters got the starts after being put in to bat, but it was Gujarat Titans' Jos Buttler who put on the finishing act during the hosts' 7-wicket win in Ahmedabad on Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Put in to bat, DC batters scored heavily in the Powerplay, but all they could manage was starts as five of their top six batters could not just touch 40 runs.
What looked like a possibility of 220-230 at one time, ended being just 203, with the hosts needing 204 for victory.
GT's wicket is known to be full of runs and although Shubman Gill was runout early for 7, a brilliant direct throw by Karun Nair -- GT were never going to give up with a big line-up of batters.
But Jos Buttler was enough.
He got off the mark with an uppish drive over mid-off for a four. That was all the confidence he needed to get on with it.
With Sai Sudharsan going great guns at the other end, Buttler helped himself to a few maximums too, Vipraj Nigam at the receiving end.
Both batters complimented each other well and brought up the 50-run stand in no time.
Sudharsan was dismissed in the 8th over for 36 off 21 as Kuldeep Yadav ended the stand.
With Buttler still at the crease, GT had their hopes.
Sherfane Rutherford and Buttler got off to a slowish start happy to rotate the strike and hit the odd boundary in the first three overs of their link-up in the middle.
But after the 11th over, Rutherford decided to move it along as he clobbered Kuldeep for a six and followed that up with a couple more off Mukesh Kumar to take some pressure of Buttler.
The 13th over by Mukesh saw Buttler drive the ball through mid-on for a four to get to his 3rd 50 this season. It also brought up the 50-run stand.
The joy of watching Buttler is in him using his batting acumen to the fullest. He's got the big shots but he knows when to pull them out, his presence of mind and craftiness in pacing his innings is another of his plus points.
His chasing abilities are probably only bested by chase master Virat Kohli.
With 66 needed off 6 overs, Buttler gave Mitchell Starc a real thrashing, hitting him for 5 consecutive boundaries, scoring to all parts of the ground, and bringing down the required run rate incredibly.
With Rutherford happy to play second fiddle, Buttler kept scoring boundaries every other over until the equation reached 15 off the last two overs and waltzed into the 90s.
Eventually, Rahul Tewatia smoked Starc for a four and a six to take GT to victory and atop the standings, while Buttler remained unbeaten on 97 off 54 balls.
Buttler is the only batter with multiple 90+ scores while chasing 200+ in IPL history.
His 119-run partnership with Rutherford turned the tide for GT and his form augurs well for GT going ahead into the season.
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