IPL: How does Jos Buttler fare against Mohammed Shami?
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals are all set to host Gujarat Titans in the 48th game of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The two teams would want to bounce back from their losses to Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, respectively.
It will be interesting to see how Jos Buttler tackles Mohammed Shami, who has been brilliant in the Powerplay this time.
Here are the stats.
Battle
Shami has dismissed Buttler twice
Jos Buttler has been the nucleus of RR's top order since the 2018 IPL season.
He is set to face a fired-up Shami, who owns 116 wickets in the tournament at an average of 27.04.
So far, Buttler has amassed 79 runs off 59 balls against Shami in the IPL (SR: 133.89), while Shami has dismissed him on two occasions.
Shami
Shami's brilliant Powerplay numbers
Shami has grabbed eyeballs with his searing deliveries in the Powerplay in IPL 2023.
Against Delhi Capitals, he took four wickets to register the second-best Powerplay bowling figures in IPL history.
Shami now has 12 Powerplay wickets this season, the most by a bowler.
He remains the only bowler with over 10 Powerplay wickets this season. Mohammed Siraj follows Shami with eight wickets.
Information
Joint-most wickets in IPL 2023
Shami, who has been exceptional, remains the only GT player with over 15 wickets (17) in IPL 2023. He has the joint-most wickets in the season along with Chennai Super Kings's Tushar Deshpande. Shami averages just 14.52 with the ball.
Information
What about overall T20 cricket?
As far as overall T20 cricket is concerned, Buttler has a strike rate of 145.71 against Shami. And, the latter has dismissed Buttler thrice. Buttler has scored 102 runs off 70 balls against Shami. Notably, 35 of these have been dot balls.
Buttler
Buttler has over 3,000 IPL runs
Earlier this season, Buttler became the third-fastest batter to complete 3,000 IPL runs.
He reached the landmark in the 85th innings. Only Chris Gayle (75) and KL Rahul (80) are ahead of Buttler in this regard.
Buttler was on fire in the previous season. He became the third batter after Virat Kohli and David Warner to score over 800 runs in an IPL season.
Numbers
Buttler strikes at 151.52 against pace
Buttler, being a hot commodity in the IPL, has perturbed the greatest of bowling attacks so far.
As many as 2,035 of his total 3,120 IPL runs have come against pace. He has a strike rate of 151.52 against pacers in the tournament.
Therefore, a bowler of even Shami's caliber could be tested against Buttler.
This will be a battle to watch out for!