With England preparing to begin their defence of the T20 World Cup against Scotland, captain Jos Buttler has promised his side will bring "100 per cent intensity".

The 33-year-old led his country to victory two years ago in Australia as they became joint ODI and T20 world champions, and after surrendering the former crown last year, they will be determined not to lose their remaining title.

Tuesday's encounter in Barbados will be the first ever 20-over international between the nations and their first meeting of any kind since 2018, taking place on the same Kensington Oval surface that hosted Namibia's super over victory against Oman on Sunday. 

England approach the fixture as heavy favourites, but Buttler was quick to highlight there was no room for complacency, with last year's dire 50-over World Cup campaign still fresh in the memory for many. 

"We expect a tough challenge, and we're all excited for that," Buttler said. "They've come here to try and win games. They want to beat us and we want to beat them, so it's pretty straightforward.

"There's a good feeling amongst the team, we've had some good performances, but we're fully focused on this game and we need to make sure we bring 100 per cent intensity.

"Every game we have to be right on it. All we are focused on is that Scotland match and that is the biggest and most important thing right now."

England have plenty of local knowledge in their dressing room, with Jofra Archer joined by his fellow Bajan Chris Jordan as well as Phil Salt, who spent six years on the island during his childhood.

Their backroom staff has also made room for former West Indies international Kieran Pollard, who is on hand as a coaching consultant to assist Matthew Mott for the tournament.

"That's part of selection discussions and team discussions, being aware of the wind and right-hand/left-hand combinations," Buttler said of Pollard's presence in the group.

"[Pollard] has fitted in really well. Some of the guys have played with him, or played lots of cricket against him, so have a nice relationship to start from. 

"Obviously, he's got a wealth of T20 knowledge and everyone should have been tapping into that, sponging up any really good information that he's got for us.

"And obviously, [he knows about] local conditions. He knows everything about the Caribbean, and he's got that winner's mindset. 

"I think that's something that we're really tapping into. He's won a lot of competitions around the world… it's great to have guys like that around the group."

Jos Buttler says there is a "good feeling" around the England squad, following their pre-T20 World Cup series win over Pakistan.

The reigning champions, who begin their title defence against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday, completed their preparations with a seven-wicket victory at The Oval wrapping up a 2-0 series win.

It was a disrupted series with washouts preventing the T20Is in Leeds and Cardiff, but England finished it on a high, successfully chasing down Pakistan's total of 157 with 27 balls remaining.

Although the tourists were looking good at 59-0 within the first six overs, the pendulum swung in the hosts' favour as Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer quickly bowled Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam.

Buttler (39) and Phil Salt (45) then led the way in England's successful chase on the day of the former's record-breaking 116th T20I for his country, surpassing Eoin Morgan.

And despite playing two fewer games than scheduled in the series, the skipper feels the squad are in good shape ahead of their World Cup defence. 

"We have worked hard in training and there is a good feeling around the squad," he said. "Guys are all stepping up and performing.

"It would have been nice to get two more games in to expose a few guys to different situations, but we have really good experience in the group and a lot of guys have been playing in the IPL, so we are not short of cricket."

Of his own performance, he added: "I have a quest to keep improving, trying to work on a few different things in my game that I haven't been doing. That is giving me fresh energy and motivation.

"It went well for five or six overs but then I got out. The middle order needs to step up," Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said, with his nation beginning their World Cup campaign against the United States on Thursday.

"We need to sort out those things for the World Cup. We have a few injuries, but there are a lot of positives. Our play is good in patches."

Jos Buttler will miss England's third T20 against Pakistan in Cardiff on Tuesday, with his wife due to give birth.

The skipper has left the squad to be with wife Louise for the birth of their third child.

Buttler produced an inspired performance in the second T20 at Edgebaston on Saturday, with his contribution of 84 from 54 deliveries helping the hosts to a 23-run victory.

The 33-year-old's knock, which included eight fours and three sixes, marked the second-highest score by an England captain in a T20I, behind Eoin Morgan's 91 against New Zealand in 2019.

However, the hosts will have to make do without their white-ball skipper in Cardiff, while he could potentially miss the fourth T20 at The Oval on Thursday and some matches at the T20 World Cup, which begins on Sunday.

Moeen Ali will captain England in Buttler's absence, with either Phil Salt or Jonny Bairstow set to deputise as wicketkeeper. 

England will begin the defence of their T20 World Cup title against Scotland in the Caribbean on June 4.

Jofra Archer may not immediately return with the crashing impact he previously had on England, but Jos Buttler is looking forward to utilising the fast bowler after his lengthy injury lay-off.

Rapid pacer Archer capped his first England performance in over a year with two wickets as England secured a 23-run victory over Pakistan in their T20I at Edgbaston.

With the upcoming T20 World Cup on the horizon, England captain Buttler was delighted to have Archer back in the fold – but warned his workload must be managed.

"I thought he was brilliant; you can see the emotion, taking wickets again, is fantastic," said Buttler, who plundered 84 off just 54 deliveries in the first innings to set the tone.

"He's not just going to be the Jofra Archer of old straight away, but a really positive performance.

"It's absolutely trying to get overs into Jofra but looking after him as well. I thought the whole bowling group was brilliant."

Buttler's knock, which included eight fours and three sixes, marked the second-highest score by an England captain in a T20I, behind Eoin Morgan's 91 against New Zealand in 2019.

On his own performance, Buttler added: "You always want to be playing well. I feel like I'm hitting the ball well, which is great."

Pakistan appeared to be setting their chase of 184 up well as Babar Azam crafted a fine 32, along with Fakhar Zaman's quickfire 45 off just 21 balls.

Yet the Pakistan captain fell lbw to Moeen Ali, with Fakhar then holing out off Liam Livingstone to Harry Brook in the deep as the visitors unfurled in Birmingham.

"Mostly we are flexible and everyone knows their role," Babar said after the defeat. "Before the series, we decided to go with these roles, so we're clear.

"The way Fakhar dominated after the early wickets fell. I think if me and Fakhar had batted for four or five more overs, then we could have won."

England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler says the team had their pride dented by last year's 50-over World Cup failure, as they look to set things right at the T20 tournament.

England endured a dismal defence of their ODI title in India last year, failing to make it out of the group stage as they lost six of their nine matches.

They are desperate for a better showing as they look to retain their 20-over crown at the T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies, with their opener coming against Scotland on June 4.

Before then, Buttler's team face Pakistan in a four-match home T20I series, and he has witnessed a determination to respond within the camp.  

"That pride was obviously dented and it was a really disappointing competition," Buttler recalled.

"But life moves on, it's a chapter in the book and there's lessons you learn but we're presented with a new opportunity, a different format.

"We go to the West Indies and want to give a better account of ourselves."

Headingley is the venue for England's first match against Pakistan on Wednesday, when Jofra Archer could make his first international appearance for over a year.

The fast bowler has missed the better part of two years with elbow and back issues, but Buttler says he has impressed in training this week.

"He's bowling quick," Buttler said of Archer. "It was good fun facing him in the nets yesterday, a really good challenge. It's great to see him back."

Phil Salt followed up his match-winning century in Grenada with a record-breaking hundred in Trinidad as England amassed their highest-ever T20 score, putting the West Indies to the sword.

Having been overlooked at the Indian Premier League auction on Tuesday, Salt smashed 10 sixes and seven fours in his 119 off 57 balls at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba in England’s 267 for three.

Salt’s belligerent knock is the highest by an England batter – beating the previous record held by Alex Hales on 116 – as the tourists took a giant stride towards levelling the five-match series at 2-2.

England’s previous best score in this format was the 241 for three they posted against New Zealand in Napier in November 2019 but Jos Buttler’s side blew that total out of the water.

Buttler registered 55 off 29 balls, putting on 117 in 9.5 overs with Salt, while Liam Livingstone added an unbeaten 54 off 21 deliveries as England racked up the fifth highest score in this format.

Four days on from his 109 not out at the weekend which helped England keep the series alive, Salt transferred his form to another Caribbean island, bringing up back-to-back tons off 48 balls.

There was no respite for the Windies on a hot and sticky afternoon, with T20 debutant Matthew Forde leaking 54 from three overs and Jason Holder and Gudakesh Motie each conceding 55 from four overs.

Akeal Hosein was the pick of the attack with one for 36 from his allocation but the hosts have been left it all to do to stop the series from going to a decider – no team has chased down more than 259.

Jos Buttler admitted his run of low scores has “gone on for a lot longer than I would have liked” after the England captain’s World Cup hangover continued in the Caribbean.

Buttler was out for three off 13 balls against the West Indies in Antigua, his fifth single-figure score in eight ODIs, while he has now gone 13 innings in this format without a fifty.

Number 11 batter Gus Atkinson was the only other England batter who did not reach double figures in the first of three ODIs, where the tourists set a target of 326 in their first match since the World Cup.

Speaking after the Windies overhauled England’s total with four wickets and seven balls to spare in an exciting crescendo, Buttler remains optimistic he can turn his fortunes around quickly.

“I feel good, I just keep managing to get out,” he said. “It’s disappointing, frustrating and gone on for a lot longer than I would have liked but there’s only myself who can score my own runs.

“I’m not going to score any if I hide away and don’t get out there. You keep working hard, you keep putting the effort in and trust that it will turn around.”

Buttler is widely-regarded as one of England’s greatest white-ball batters ever and his lean patch has coincided with his side’s listing fortunes – this was their seventh loss in 10 ODIs.

England are at the start of a new cycle and there were positives as openers Will Jacks and Phil Salt, neither of whom were selected for the World Cup group stage exit, put on 77 in 8.2 overs.

Harry Brook top-scored with 71 off 72 balls, Sam Curran and Brydon Carse put on 66 in 38 balls to lift England to 325 all out – the highest total in ODIs at this venue, a record that lasted a few hours.

Rehan Ahmed was the pick of the attack with two for 40 but Curran recorded the most expensive figures by an England bowler in an ODI as he leaked an eye-watering 98 in 9.5 overs.

Curran and Carse were unable to stop an onslaught from Windies captain Shai Hope and Romario Shepherd, who put on 89 in 51 balls to turn the tide after the hosts had slipped to 213 for five.

Hope clattered three sixes in four balls off Curran to end proceedings, finishing on 109 not out, while Shepherd crunched seven boundaries in his 28-ball stay before being dismissed two shy of fifty.

“There’s some young guys in that team who have not played loads and loads of one-day cricket, they’ll learn a lot from this,” Buttler said of a side that had five individuals with fewer than 10 ODI appearances.

“A lot of stuff we did really, really well; not well enough to win the game in the end but guys will be better for the experience, learn plenty from that and come back for the next one.

“I thought we played really well, I thought the two guys at the top set the tone really well. We were positive and aggressive and put the pressure on the West Indies at the start.

“We just didn’t quite close it out. There’s no need to panic, we’ve done a lot of things really well, there’s guys who have gained experience from this and we look forward to the next one (on Wednesday).”

The Windies are also at the outset of a new era, having failed to qualify for the World Cup, but it was Hope, a champion performer who reached 5,000 ODI runs in his knock, who was their star on Sunday.

“This definitely gives us confidence for the rest of the series,” Hope said. “We’ve got to make sure the guys believe they can win in any situation. It’s great we can start this way.”

Jos Buttler is keen to stay on as captain and lead England’s ODI rebuild as he prepares for a World Cup post-mortem with director of cricket Rob Key.

Key has flown out to India for the second time, having been part of the touring party earlier in the tournament, and will begin the process of picking the bones out of a miserable title defence with Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott in the coming days.

A 160-run win over Netherlands in Pune on Wednesday gives them something positive to talk about after five successive defeats and put England back on track for Champions Trophy qualification in 2025 ahead of their final game against Pakistan.

There have been questions over the leadership of the side in India, which Key may wish to examine more closely, but Buttler has made it clear he wants to lead what will be a much-changed squad when it tours the West Indies next month.

Asked if he would be travelling as skipper, Buttler said: “Yeah, I’d like to. I know Rob Key arrives into India today. We can have some good conversations with him and the coach and make a plan for that tour. But, yes, I would like to.

“I’m competitive, I want to win any game I play, whether it’s a game of cards or a game of cricket. So I’m delighted with this win. It’s been a frustrating time, not winning games of cricket or playing as well as we’d like, I’m delighted with this win.”

Match-winner Ben Stokes, whose backs-against-the-wall 108 set England up for victory, will not be going to the Caribbean as he heads for a knee operation at the end of the tournament.

Some, including his friend and former team-mate Steve Harmison, felt Stokes should have been sent home for surgery as soon as the semi-finals were out of reach but his presence carried the side through a familiar batting wobble against the Dutch.

At one stage they had slipped from 133 for one to 192 for six and, without Stokes’ bullish knock, would have fallen far short of their winning mark of 339.

The man himself told the post-match presentation “I don’t leave anyone hanging” and Buttler said an early exit was never on the cards.

“No, we haven’t had any conversations like that. It’s not Ben’s style at all,” he said.

“He’s committed, he wants to play and he wants to put in performances like you saw here. Anytime you need someone to stand up when the team’s under pressure, he’s had a history of always doing that for whoever he’s playing for.

“We’re very lucky to have him in the team and I thought his innings today was exceptional.”

England head to Kolkata on Thursday, where they conclude their disappointing campaign against Pakistan at the weekend.

Their opponents still have a chance to reach the semi-finals, while Buttler’s men still need to tie down a top-eight finish to book a Champions Trophy place in 2025.

“It’s a huge game for us, vital,” he said.

“We haven’t performed the way we wanted to this whole trip, and we’d like to leave India putting in a proper performance.”

England’s early exit from the World Cup is already guaranteed but assistant coach Carl Hopkinson insists their bottom-of-the-table clash against the Netherlands is no “dead rubber”.

As the tournament finally edges towards the business end, the defending champions have long since become an afterthought in the wider context of the competition.

They have lost six of their seven games and saw their last mathematical chance of a miracle wiped off the table by rivals Australia in Ahmedabad last week.

The best they can hope for now is avoiding a first ever ODI defeat to the Dutch, the only associate nation competing in India, and keep their prospects of reaching the 2025 Champions Trophy alive.

They need a top-eight finish to book their spot, meaning there is no leeway for wallowing in their dreadful form when they take the field in Pune on Wednesday.

The appearance of Hopkinson, a low-key member of the backroom team responsible primarily for fielding, suggested the squad were not keen on issuing their own public call to arms, but he has no qualms about their motivation.

“I don’t think there’s ever a dead rubber when you play for England, to be honest. I think the lads are completely up for it,” he said.

“We’ve got two games in which we need to win both to qualify for the Champions Trophy, so I think that’s there for everybody to see. The guys are going to be obviously up for it and I think we’ll be good.

“We need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do.”

On his unexpected role as carrier of the England message, he added: “I’m not quite sure why I’m the man to explain, (but) I’m an assistant coach with the England team and I’m more than happy to come out and speak about our campaign so far.”

England have named an unchanged side for the last three games, losing emphatically to Sri Lanka, India and Australia, and could belatedly mix things up.

Harry Brook is on hand to add ballast to a badly under-performing top six, but could be added in place of all-rounder Liam Livingstone rather than one of the specialist batters.

Livingstone adds an extra spin option but has not been able to carry his share of the run-scoring load, with just 60 runs in six innings.

Pace bowler Mark Wood, who has been managing a sore knee, could also miss out with Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson snapping at his heels for a chance.

Wood is the fastest seamer in the squad by a distance, consistently clearing 90mph, but has struggled to keep a lid on his economy rate and has only six wickets at 58.16.

Carse and Atkinson are both likely to form part of England’s white-ball future, leaving captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott to decide whether now is the time to blood them in a game with live stakes.

Ben Stokes’ fitness was under observation on the eve of the match, with the Test captain carrying various niggles. He missed the first three games here with a hip problem and is set to undergo surgery on his long-standing left-knee injury when he gets back to England.

Former England quick Steve Harmison told the PA news agency this week that the team management should instruct Stokes to leave the camp and go home early in a bid to fast-track his recovery for the new-year Test series in India.

But Hopkinson suggested that idea was not under consideration.

“Knowing Ben, he’ll want to try and play the next game in front of him and try and win that for England,” he said.

“He’s about winning games of cricket for England, so I’d imagine that’s what he’ll be thinking about first and foremost.

“Once he’s obviously made that decision to have the operation, that’s obviously booked in and that’s what he’s going to do, but it’s not before this tournament finishes.”

Jos Buttler admitted his England side were “completely outplayed” after their World Cup title defence began with a crushing nine-wicket loss to New Zealand.

The 2019 champions were well beaten across all three facets by the Black Caps in Ahmedabad, with a mammoth stand of 273 between unbeaten centurions Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra putting them away emphatically.

The pair’s poise and power put England’s 282 for nine firmly in the shade and there will be questions over soft top-order dismissals, patchy bowling and inconsistent fielding.

For a team who have repeatedly set the standard in white-ball cricket over the last eight years and hold both limited-overs titles, it was a chastening start to a long trek around India.

And Buttler made no attempt to sugarcoat the manner of the defeat.

“I’m disappointed. We were completely outplayed,” he said.

“I thought we were a long way short of our best with the bat, we were probably looking at 320, 330. We had a lot of starts but I thought we were just a bit off in our execution. We weren’t quite clinical enough with our shot making and gifted New Zealand a few wickets.

“But we’re not robots. Sometimes you don’t play as well as you would like. Everyone’s working hard, everyone’s prepared well and we were just a bit off it. In international cricket when you’re a little bit short and the opposition play very well, you’re going to lose the game of cricket.”

England are jetting straight off to the Himalayan mountain region of Dharamsala on Friday for their next group game against Bangladesh and, while they are sure to have plenty of doubts and misgivings to mull over on the journey, Joe Root urged them not to second guess themselves too much.

Root, who ended a run of indifferent ODI form with a measured knock of 77, insisted the result was not a dramatic setback to the wider ambitions. England lost key games on their way to winning the trophy in 2019 and also backed themselves into an early corner before lifting the T20 crown last year.

“It’s important that we stay calm. I don’t think there’s ever been a World Cup-winning side that hasn’t had a bump in the road or a stumble along the way,” he told BBC’s Test Match Special.

“Look at us in 2019, we had hiccups throughout that. We’ve just got to stay level and authentic to what we are as a team. When we do hit a bump in the road, we are a team that comes back strong and we double down on our identity as a team. So you can expect that when we get to Dharamsala.

“We’ve got to be able to withstand a bit of pressure, soak it up. We are aware of that, we know that is part and parcel of any World Cup journey. We’ve got evidence that our method works, because it has done over a long period of time so we’ve got to stay true to that.”

Root also channelled the ‘Bazball’ philosophy which has carried England’s Test team forward over the past 18 months, suggesting that the batting unit could respond to defeat by upping the ante and going even harder next time around.

“We won’t be seeing guys chipping it to mid-wicket or mid-off next game, they’ll be hitting it 20 rows back,” he said.

“That’s one example in a number of different areas where we can remind ourselves of how good we are and how intimidating we can be as a batting group. We want to double down on that, put sides under pressure and get those massive scores that blow teams away.”

Jos Buttler will leave it to others to define the legacy of this England white-ball generation as they gear up for what could be one final ODI hurrah.

Buttler, plus Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, were integral in turning England from also-rans to the first men’s side to hold both limited-overs World Cups simultaneously.

Eight members from the class of 2019 are in England’s 15-strong squad for the defence of their 50-over crown in India, which starts this week, in what could be an ODI swansong for several in the set-up.

Retaining their crown would put this England side on a pedestal as one of the greatest limited-overs sides ever, but Buttler insisted leaving a long-lasting footprint is not uppermost in their minds.

“I feel like legacy is defined by others,” England’s white-ball captain told the PA news agency. “The guys in the team are all excited just about this World Cup.

“A lot of us have played a lot of cricket together for a long period of time, being part of a really successful side for a long time and we’ve had some really good memories along the way already.

“Now it’s something new in my eyes, it’s a new World Cup, a chance to try and do something else and win a tournament and have a great time doing it.

“I don’t feel like we go out there with any added pressure of trying to cement a legacy, we’re just looking forward to the tournament and what will come of that.”

England played 88 ODIs between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, revolutionising their approach as the format took centre stage on their priority list and culminated in their unforgettable Lord’s triumph.

Since that heady July day four years ago, England have had just 43 ODIs and frequently been without their best players as the Test and T20 teams took precedence.

Joe Root – England’s rock at number three – and Stokes, who has reversed his ODI retirement and will be used as a specialist middle-order batter due to longstanding left knee issues restricting his bowling, have taken part in just 19 and 13 50-over matches respectively since the 2019 World Cup final.

“Four years ago felt very different,” Buttler said. “We’d obviously had a big change of style of play and personnel in the team – all building towards that World Cup for four years.

“There was nothing in the way of that and being a home World Cup, I think there were different pressures of being the favourites which we embraced.

“Whereas going into this World Cup, it’s been a bit different, I think it’s probably fair to say we’re probably not favourites going into this one.”

Buttler, who succeeded Eoin Morgan as England’s limited-overs captain last year, doubts England’s status as holders of both white-ball World Cups puts a target on their backs.

“We’ve been a really good white-ball team for a long time now – teams want to beat you, we want to beat other teams as well,” he said.

“Whether that adds any extra difference to the results, I don’t believe so because we’re just as determined to try and win games of cricket as teams that are trying to beat us.”

England start their campaign against New Zealand at Ahmedabad on Thursday, the first of nine group-stage fixtures in eight cities that will stretch them physically and mentally.

Their decision to swap out Jason Roy, so crucial to their 2019 success, and plump for Harry Brook garnered scrutiny, but was based on the Yorkshireman’s flexibility to bat anywhere in the top six.

Having broken into and established himself in the Test and T20 sides, Brook has been backed by Buttler to make a splash in the ODI team if selected.

“Harry’s ceiling is so high,” Buttler added. “I think we’ve seen it in international cricket in the way he’s taken to Test cricket, especially. We all know the trajectory his career is on.

“He was obviously fantastic in the T20s in Pakistan last year ahead of the T20 World Cup and forced his way into that team and he’s one of the bright young stars of world cricket.”

:: Jos Buttler was speaking to promote Castore, the official kit suppliers of the England cricket team, investing in an extension to its national brand marketing campaign. For more information, visit https://castore.com

Rajasthan Royals retained their place at the top of the IPL points table with a remarkable backs-to-the-wall run chase to beat Gujarat Titans by three wickets.

The winners of Sunday's match would lead the competition through five rounds, with the big-scoring Royals in command coming into this meeting.

But their hopes of protecting that position were hit by the early wickets of openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler in reply to 177-7.

Shubman Gill (45) and David Miller (46) had led the Titans to that strong total, meaning Rajasthan required an improbable turnaround after losing their two leading scorers and initially struggling to get going thereafter

Captain Sanju Samson stepped up with a swift 60, though, and Shimron Hetmyer got them over the line despite a fine bowling performance from Mohammad Shami, who added to the dismissal of Buttler with two more late wickets.

Hetmyer crucially remained in the middle and completed the comeback with his fifth six to finish on 56 off 26, with the Royals 179-7 with four balls remaining.

Titans take out Rajasthan openers

Jaiswal and Buttler opened together for the fourth time this year, aiming to build on the success of those previous three matches, all of which ended in Rajasthan victories. Buttler made fifties in each of those matches, with Jaiswal joining him on two occasions, too.

But both batters were out before the end of the third over, a wicket maiden for Shami (3-25) that reduced the Royals to 4-2. At that stage, it seemed the Titans had halted the reply before it had even got going.

Royals rally to another big score

Even with Jaiswal and Buttler contributing only a run between them, the Royals retained some spectacular batting power. They have scored 175 or more in every one of their five matches this year, showing the scale of the task for any opponent looking to take them out of the game.

A third Jos Buttler half-century of the Indian Premier League season saw Rajasthan Royals edge a dramatic three-run victory over Chennai Super Kings.

The England white-ball skipper rattled off another superb knock of 52 to continue his rich vein of form during Wednesday's clash at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.

But his side's tally of 175-8 was almost knocked off by a pyrotechnic finale from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, who crashed 36 runs off the final two overs.

Despite the early loss of fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), it was Buttler's sturdy second-wicket partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (38) that kept Rajasthan ticking over.

Even when their 77-run stand came to an end, subsequent turns from Ravichandran Ashwin (30) and Shimron Hetmyer (30 not out) continued to punish a loose bowling attack.

Jadeja's tidy 2-21 off four overs came too late to restrict the damage, and CSK were forced straight onto the offensive themselves when they came to the crease in pursuit.

For a while, it looked like they would prove handily successful in their chase, before the loss of Devon Conway (50) and Ajinkya Rahane (31) saw them tumble to 113-6.

But then, with their side in need, the veteran duo of Dhoni (32 not out) and Jadeja (25 not out) almost dragged them over the line, finishing just shy with 172-6 after Sandeep Sharma held his nerve in the final over.

Buttler continues IPL brilliance

Having led England to T20 World Cup glory last year, there was little doubt the wicketkeeper-batter's form would again be a big-time player for the Royals, and so it has been proven.

After 54 against the Sunrisers and 79 against the Capitals, he has once again shown himself invaluable to the Royals and their hopes of success this season.

Dhoni rolls back the years

Having needed 40 runs off the final dozen balls, it appeared a stretch too far even for the 41-year-old and his superb skills.

But he hasn't hung up his pads yet for a reason, and his devastating knock, with three maximums and an additional four, helped set up the grandstand finish.

Jos Buttler scored 79 from 51 balls to lead Rajasthan Royals to a 57-run victory against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

An opening partnership of 98 from Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal from just 8.3 overs gave the Royals a foundation to build from, eventually setting the Capitals a target of 200.

Three wickets each for Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal then reduced Delhi as they could only muster 142-9 from their 20 overs.

Buttler and Jaiswal set the tone before the latter was caught and bowled by Mukesh Kumar for 60 from just 31 deliveries.

Delhi gave themselves hope of causing a batting collapse as Kuldeep Yadav removed captain Sanju Samson for a duck, before Rovman Powell bowled Riyan Parag for seven to reduce the Royals to 126-3 as the run rate began to slow down.

Buttler continued to keep the scoreboard ticking along with Shimron Hetmyer (39 not out), though, before also being caught and bowled by Mukesh.

Boult dismissed Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey for ducks as the Capitals slipped to 0-2 inside the first over of their reply.

After Rilee Rossouw was out for 14, David Warner and Lalit Yadav started to finally allow Delhi to get a foothold in their innings before the latter was bowled by Boult for 38.

Warner started to quickly run out of partners before finally succumbing himself for 65 as the Capitals struggled to ever threaten the target to give the Royals their second win to go top of the Indian Premier League, while Delhi suffered their third loss from three outings.

Buttler storms the Capitals

It was a mature knock from the England white-ball captain, who hit 11 fours and one six, though he did have a lucky moment when he was dropped on 18 by Anrich Nortje.

He briefly sat atop the IPL's list for most runs in the early stage of this year's competition (152), only for Warner (158) to overtake him in Delhi's reply.

Warner landmark no consolation for Delhi

The Australian is the third batsman to score 6,000 runs in IPL history and the fifth to score 2,000 runs for the Capitals in the competition, and is only the second to score 2,000+ runs for two teams (also Sunrisers Hyderabad) after Shikhar Dhawan for the same two teams.

However, the Capitals have won just one IPL game from the last 14 times they have chased a target of 200 or more, which was a seven-wicket win when chasing Gujarat Lions' score of 208 in May 2017.

Early dominance in both innings from Rajasthan Royals saw them cruise to a comfortable 72-run triumph over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday to open their IPL campaign with a win.

Runners-up last season, Rajasthan had strong performances from Jos Buttler with the bat and Trent Boult with the ball to thank as they overwhelmed their opponents.

Hyderabad won the toss and put the Royals in to bat first, a decision that proved to be a poor one as openers Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a team record of 85 runs in the powerplay, with the former reaching his half-century off just 20 balls before he was cleaned up by Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Though the Royals' run rate slowed following Buttler's dismissal for 54, Jaiswal (54) and captain Sanju Samson (55) both reached half-centuries while Shimron Hetmyer added 22 in an important cameo as Rajasthan set Hyderabad a target of 204.

The Sunrisers' chase faltered almost immediately, Boult removing Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in the opening over without a run on the board before danger man Harry Brook saw his first IPL innings ended with just 13 from 21 deliveries when he was bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal.

Wickets continued to tumble as Chahal impressed, taking 4-17 to eradicate any chances of a miraculous Hyderabad chase and see his team to an emphatic victory.

Royals' top order set unassailable target

Despite taking just 43 runs off the final five overs, Rajasthan's top order had already put them in good stead, recording the fifth most powerplay runs in IPL history.

Their top three batsmen all reached 50 as Buttler and Jaiswal piled on the runs early before a captain's innings from Samson helped the Royals set a target that Hyderabad never looked like knocking off.

Boult blitz stamps out Hyderabad's hopes

Any chance of a successful Sunrisers' run chase was essentially stamped out within the first over as a double-wicket maiden from Boult had them staring down the barrel of defeat.

Rajasthan opted to use Boult's pace early and often, the New Zealander bowling three of the first five overs, conceding just eight runs in that spell before eventually finishing with figures of 2-21.