"Had A Stitch On...": Sanju Samson Reveals Why Ravichandran Ashwin Opened The Batting For Rajasthan Royals Instead Of Jos Buttler

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson on Wednesday revealed why Jos Buttler did not open the innings for them during their defeat to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Guwahati. Chasing a target of 198, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opened the batting for the franchise, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The decision, however, backfired as RR were reduced to 26/2 inside the first four overs. Buttler came to bat at no.3 but was later dismissed on 19 (11) by Nathan Ellis.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Samson revealed that suffered an injury scare while fielding.

"Jos wasn't fully fit. He had a stitch on his finger," Samson said during the post-match press conference.

On the decision to send Ashwin, ahead of Devdutt Padikkal, the RR captain said: "The thinking behind Devdutt Padikkal at No. 4 was we knew that they had a left-arm spinner (Harpreet Brar) and legspinner (Rahul Chahar) who would be bowling in the middle overs. So, it was important for us to have a left-hander."

Skipper Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 86 and four wickets from Nathan Ellis helped PBKS to their second straight IPL victory with a tense five-run win.

Punjab rode on the left-handed Dhawan's 56-ball knock and his 90-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh, who hit 60, to post 197-4 after being invited to bat first in Guwahati.

Ellis then starred in his second game of his IPL debut season to return figures of 4-30 and keep Rajasthan to 192-7, but not after a scare.

(With AFP Inputs)