Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler was the holder of the Orange Cap before the game against Gujarat Titans started and he donned that after the game came to an end as well. However, for a little while, Buttler lost the Orange Cap to Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya.
Sanju Samson, the RR skipper won the toss and put GT to bat first. Hardik led from the front with a magnificent knock of 87 runs off 52 balls to help his side, which had been in trouble at 53/3, to 192/4.
Pandya had scored 141 runs in 4 previous innings while Buttler had scored 218 runs. So when Pandya crossed Buttler’s overall run tally in the last over of Gujarat’s innings, the Englishman took off his Orange Cap and tucked it behind as a gesture of recognizing that Pandya is now the leading run-scorer of the tournament.
However, it didn’t take much time for Buttler to regain the Orange Cap. Hardik ended up just 10 runs ahead of Buttler’s total, which the RR opener hauled down in just four balls as he creamed Mohammed Shami for three consecutive boundaries in the first over of RR’s innings.
Such a gentleman Jos Buttler is .. pic.twitter.com/m42ATqL7tN
— That-Cricket-Girl (@imswatib) April 14, 2022
Netizens on Twitter loved this gesture from Jos Buttler to remove his Orange Cap. Twitterati hailed Buttler for his sportsmanship towards the opposition captain.
Here are some of the reactions from fans lauding Jos Buttler:
Jos Buttler removed his orange cap the moment Hardik Pandya went past him as the leading scorer this season. @rajasthanroyals #GTvRR
— Rahul Rawat (@rawatrahul9) April 14, 2022
Looks like @josbuttler is venting his anger on @hardikpandya7 for taking away the orange cap for a while from him..#IPL2022#RRvsGT
— W V Raman (@wvraman) April 14, 2022
Jos Buttler ? Orange Cap
A love story. ?
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 14, 2022
Jos Buttler tuck his orange cap once Hardik Pandya became the top run-getter in #IPL2022 . He doesn’t need to do this. He is such a nice guy. pic.twitter.com/oFfY3x7SQk
— Vibinraj (@vibin1021) April 14, 2022
What a fair play from @josbuttler… Nice to see this type of fair play.. New orange cap holder @hardikpandya7 @mufaddal_vohra @cricbuzz @circleofcricket #AavaDe #ipl2022 pic.twitter.com/rt3PR2y79l
— Qurbanhusain Palsaniya (@QurbanhusainP) April 14, 2022
Hardik Pandya after seeing Orange cap gone to Jos Buttler in 15 mins pic.twitter.com/Q6lgF9yG6E
— ꌗꂦꃅꍏꀤ꒒ꪜ (@iamsohail__1) April 14, 2022
Jos Buttler removing his orange cap for the last 2/3 balls of GT innings felt like Sunil Dutt removing his turban in Munnai bhai MBBS movie?
— Mazakiya ShortLeg (@MShortleg) April 14, 2022
Jos Buttler’s Mass??
Orange cap be like: I will stay with you throughout the tournament ?#RRvsGT #josbuttler— PrataP (@Pratapspeaks_) April 14, 2022
It legit took minutes for Jos Buttler to snatch his orange cap back from hardik pandya???
— Advitya Ahlawat (@AdvityaAhlawat) April 14, 2022
Wow
Jos Buttler took off his orange cap when hardik pandya crossed him in most runs list
What a man ?????#HardikPandya #JosButtler #GTvsRR #RRvGT
— Shoronjeet Banerjee (@shoronjeet02) April 14, 2022
The way Jos Buttler removed the Orange cap during last over when he got to know about Hardik Pandya going ahead him.?
Today Respect increased for you Champ. Come on now its time to get it back.?
Come on RR. #HallaBol #RRvGT #GTvsRR— Shivu (@shivunainava) April 14, 2022
Hardik Pandya played a really commendable innings as he soaked in the pressure first after GT had lost both the openers early. He did, though, didn’t deter from attacking the bad balls and kept the scoreboard ticking with youngster Abhinav Manohar. Pandya’s 87-run knock included 8 nicely-stroked fours and 4 fiercely struck sixes.
Jos Buttler then showed his brutality with a 24-ball 54-run innings that put RR in the hunt for the massive target, ending the powerplay at the score of 65/3. Buttler walloped 8 fours and 3 sixes in his powerplay onslaught.
