AHMEDABAD: The dismissal of England captain Jos Buttler to leg-spinner Adam Zampa, preceded by that of opener Dawid Malan, pegged England back in pursuit of Australia's 286 on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Eventually, the defending champions, despite a valiant fight by the lower order, lost by 33 runs and were out of reckoning for the semifinals. This was England's fifth consecutive defeat and sixth in seven matches, with their lone win coming against Bangladesh.
Buttler's dismal run of form, in which he has aggregated a total of 106 runs at 15.14 from 113 balls, has been symptomatic of England's poor batting throughout the competition.
Asked if captaincy had taken a toll on his batting, Buttler denied and said that it is a responsibility that he has enjoyed. "No I wouldn't say the captaincy (has taken a toll). It's something I've enjoyed that responsibility in T20 cricket and ODI cricket before this tournament. I felt like it brought out a lot of really good things in my batting."
He admitted his form has been the biggest frustration and asserted that he believed in leading from the front as a captain. "It's been frustrating. I've played a lot of cricket in India and played a lot of IPL cricket here so it's not as if I don't know the conditions. As a captain you want to lead from the front. So, of all the things that have happened on this trip, I'd say my own form has been my biggest frustration," said Buttler.
