IPL 2025: England's Jos Buttler hits 73 not out to lead Gujarat Titans to victory over RCB

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jos Buttler led the Gujarat Titans to an eight-wicket victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Buttler stated that he was motivated by "a few unpleasant months of cricket" beforehand, as well as his mistakes in the wicket-keeping position.

Previously, Buttler relinquished his role as captain of England's white-ball national team after England's elimination from the Champions Trophy. In this match, he accelerated after a cautious start, eventually remaining not out with 73 runs, brilliantly leading his team to chase down the target of 170 runs with 13 balls to spare.

Buttler's crucial innings came after he missed a catch from Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Phil Salt and also missed a stumping chance against another England teammate, Liam Livingstone. Livingstone became the home team's top scorer with 54 runs, eventually leading the home team to finish the game with a score of 169-8.

Buttler confessed, "I felt very embarrassed." He indicated that he had tried to celebrate the catch too early, resulting in the failure. Because of this embarrassment, he was determined to score runs. England failed to win a single match in the Champions Trophy, marking their third consecutive disappointing tournament under Buttler's leadership.

Buttler said he had experienced a few months of "unpleasant cricket" prior to this, so he strived to ensure he performed at his best in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He tried to play with complete freedom and intent. In addition to Buttler's mistakes, the Gujarat team also missed two catches, which allowed the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had won their previous two matches, to recover from 42-4 and 104-6. Livingstone was dropped on 9 and was on 21 when Buttler missed the stumping chance. Gujarat's fast bowler Mohammed Siraj played against the team that released him last year and achieved figures of 3-19.