IPL 2022 | RCB vs RR | How to stop Jos Buttler?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be playing against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 39th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The MCA Stadium in Pune will play host to high voltage fixture.

RCB will look to forget what happened last time against Sunrisers Hyderabad and try to put their best foot forward to win the match against RR. However, the biggest obstacle between RCB and a win will be Jos Buttler. 

Buttler is in the form of his life and has already scored 491 runs in IPL 2022 at a strike rate of 161.51 and an RPI of 70.14. With three centuries and two half-centuries in the tournament, he is wreaking havoc on all the bowlers.

It will be vital for RCB to see the back of Buttler as soon as possible to have any chance in the match. So let us see how RCB can dismiss him or try to keep him quiet.

In Powerplays: In all the matches, it has been evident that he enjoys batting against pace and is comfortable against short pitch and full length deliveries. Let us look at his strike rates against different types of bowling in the powerplays in IPL 2022.

Buttler's Strike Rate vs different types of bowlers in PP in IPL 2022

So, the table shows us that Buttler has been strong against all types of bowling attacks in the tournament. But it doesn't show that he has not faced enough deliveries against spin at the beginning of his innings in IPL 2022. He has faced just nine deliveries against leg-spin and seven against off-spin.

Thus, we need to look at how he has fared against spin in the course of his career.

Vs Off-Spin: He has been firm against off-spin. He has just been dismissed once against off-spin while scoring runs at a strike rate of 140.65 in his T20 career.

Vs Leg-spin: This is the only area of weakness in his batting at the early stages. He has scored runs at a strike rate of 128.26 and has been dismissed four times. So, leg-spin early in the innings can be a great option against Buttler.

Weakness Against Swing: While he looks genuinely strong against pace bowling, he has a few flaws early in the innings. Buttler struggles against an out-swinging delivery at the early stages of his innings and is particularly uncomfortable if the ball is kept just short of good length. Besides, slower balls can also be an option against him as he enjoys playing against pace.

RCB's Plan against Buttler: RCB has three great options that can prove potent against Buttler in the early stages. They could go with Josh Hazlewood, who can consistently bowl in the good length spot and swing the ball. From the other end, they can bring in Wanindu Hasaranga at the very beginning to take advantage of the batter's weakness against leg-spin. 

If Hazlewood can swing the ball in the initial overs, then Faf can extend his spell, but if there is no swing on offer, they should switch to Harshal Patel as he is brilliant with his slower deliveries. Taking the pace off and bowling it wide outside off-stump against him seems to be a great option.

All these plans are based on observation and data and an attempt to dismiss him early in his innings because if he gets set, he will destroy any bowling with the kind of form he is in.