Kolkata, April 14 (IANS) England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler, who smashed a quick-fire 22 ball 41 in Mumbai Indians’ victory here over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) says he felt naked running without his keeping gloves on while fielding.
Parthiv Patel was the man behind the stumps for the defending champions on Wednesday night while Buttler had to field. MI restricted the hosts for 187/5 and then chased it down with six wickets to spare.
“I felt naked running without my gloves on. But I have fielded before, so after sometime it was okay,” Buttler told the media at the post-match conference.
Buttler also credited his captain Rohit Sharma for having a calming effect on him as the duo put on 66 for the fourth wicket.
“It’s great to have Rohit at the other end. He’s a very calm character. He had everything under control, and the way he was playing he obviously had a lot of confidence that he will be there till the end and win the game,” he said.
“That obviously rubbed off on me that he was in such good form and was so calm, I think that got the adrenaline going. It really settled me down.”
Only 10 days earlier, Buttler had a heartbreak here at the venue where his country lost the World Twenty20 final against West Indies but he insisted he was happy to be back here playing in the IPL.
“Thanks for reminding me (laughs). It’s nice to come back and win (the IPL match). Obviously it was a huge disappointment to lose the World T20,” he said.
“But here we were determined to bounce back well after the first game (against Pune), that was a fantastic run chase.”
