Mumbai: Jos Buttler credited his IPL experience for his 76-run knock that helped England to put up 400 runs on the board against India in the fourth Test here on Friday.
The explosive batsman, who plays for Mumbai Indians, said: “Having practiced here and played here, may be in different circumstances, but having the IPL experience helps you to get used to the noise and chaos around you and you learn to deal with that and to actually focus on to the batting. I think the familiarity is good and it definitely helps.”
The Englishman, who was playing his third Test since October 2015, also said that the time away from game helped him learn more about himself and cricket.
“I don’t think it (being not part of the Test team) mattered to me at all. It gave me some time to think about my game. To play so much of cricket does not give you time to think, at times. So, over the last year, I have probably learnt the most about myself and about cricket. I really worked hard during the time leading into the Tests," Buttler said during the post-match conference after the end of second day’s play.
Buttler, who forged a 54-run partnership with Jake Ball (31) to take England’s total to 400, looked pleased with his batting performance and said that the Wankhede pitch is still helpful for the batsmen.
“It was really satisfying to score those runs when the team needed it. I enjoyed my time in the middle. 400 is a good total against quality bowlers and in their conditions,” Buttler said.
"It still is a quality batting wicket with majority of the balls going through consistently and only a few turning," he added.
While Murali Vijay (70 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (47 not out) batted solidly as India ended day two at 146 for 1, Buttler said that he and the England side are still optimistic about their chances.
“Yes, of course (we are optimistic). Getting to upto 400 does that for us. The two guys (Vijay and Pujara) have played very well for India. But still the lead is over 250. You see in this part of the world the game can accelerate when the ball is spinning. If we get a bit more consistent, get a string of dot balls and build more pressure, with the ball spinning, there is definitely some wicket-taking balls in that surface,” concluded Buttler.
