PBKS Vs RR, IPL 2023: Sanju Samson Discloses Strategy Behind R Ashwin Opening Rajasthan’s Innings

Buttler then came out to bat and was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 19 runs by Nathan Ellis.

R Ashwin and Jos Buttler.

Source : Twitter/@rajasthanroyals

In an IPL 2023 clash on Wednesday, Punjab Kings outplayed Rajasthan Royals in a nail-biting thriller at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Even though the match was exhilarating, the highlight of the match was Ravichandran Ashwin who was spotted opening the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, the decision did not turn out well for the Royals as they were two wickets down in the first four overs of the game. Buttler then came out to bat and was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 19 runs by Nathan Ellis.

Royal’s skipper Sanju Samson disclosed why they sent Ashwin to open the innings instead of Buttler.

“Buttler had a small injury, which happened during fielding. The physio didn’t have enough time to do his stitches. So, the idea was to send Ashwin bhai and to hold everyone back. He [Buttler] is fine…he had his stitches, batted well and should be fine,” explained Samson during the post-match conference.

“In games like these, momentums shift away from you pretty quickly. We started off very well. In the middle, we were expecting to get boundaries here and there. But we couldn’t and that’s where we lost it. Even after that, we did well to get close to the target. With a couple of boundaries here and there, we could have [won],” said Samson.

Talking about the match, after being pushed to bat first, skipper Shikhar Dhawan led from the front after scoring 86 runs. Prabhsimran on the other hand also dominated the Royals’ bowlers and made 60 off 34 balls and helped Punjab reach to a massive score of 197/4.

In reply, Ashwin-Jaiswal's opening combination completely failed, Buttler too did not fire with the bat. Coming down the order, Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18) and Dhruv Jurel's useful hands did raise hopes but then they could not sail their team’s boat and as a result, they lost the match by 5 runs on Wednesday.