CHENNAI: Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith believes Jos Buttler is as good as AB de Villiers when it comes to winning games batting lower down the order. Buttler came up with an unbeaten 70 off 48 balls to lead his side to a seven-wicket against Chennai Super Kings in IPL on Monday.
"He (Buttler) is second to none. We are lucky to have him. He has got so much versatility in his batting," said Smith after the match.
Buttler is a top-order batsman, but Smith sent him at No 5.
"It's an interesting one. Jos is an unbelievable player at the top. He has the ability to do things that ABD and Pollards and (Hardik) Pandyas do. Those players win you games at the back-end. This conversation is difficult (to drop him down the order) but it provides stability in the middle," complimented Smith.
Smith shared an unbeaten 98-run stand for the fourth wicket with Buttler. "The wicket was not ideal. I was trying to form a partnership. Jos can score at a good rate. There was no need to take any risk, just form a partnership, put the foot down and get the victory and two points. He (Buttler) came out with a positive mindset, hit the ball nice and hard and made things easy for me at the other end," explained Smith.
The former Australia captain also praised spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia for not letting CSK batsmen score freely. "They just squeezed them. They were magnificent. They made them work for every run on a wicket that was stopping a bit," said Smith.
With this win, Rajasthan Royals with eight points are competing with closest rivals Kolkata Knight Riders (10 points) for a place in the play-offs.
"The last two games, we were in a position where we could have won. We have not won many games with decent margins, so tonight to get over the line with a bit to spare was pleasing,'' said Smith.
Smith also backed Sanju Samson, who is struggling after a good start. The 25-year old had struck fiery half-centuries in the first two matches but is struggling to touch double figures now. He could not open his account against CSK.
"That's T20 cricket. It's pretty unlucky that he got strangled down the leg side. Message is to keep the faith, trust his ability. Hopefully, he will come off nicely in the next games," said Smith.