Jos Buttler ends half-century drought after 9 months, torments hapless Indian bowlers in Southampton

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Jos Buttler hadn’t registered a half-century in T20I cricket since September 2025. From then to today (July 11), the wicketkeeper-batter has played 18 times in the shortest format. While it’s true that creating impact as an opener has been essential in modern T20 cricket, you need your opener to come good every once in a while and take the game away from the opposition.

Jos Buttler finally fires for England

Buttler hadn’t managed to do that in 9 months. In fact, the 35-year-old was struggling so badly that he managed to score just 87 runs in 8 matches during the T20 World Cup 2026. One feared that the end was near. It wasn’t that Buttler wasn’t managing to get runs. But the biggest worry was that he looked like a walking wicket.

The 35-year-old didn’t start well for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season but found his form in the second half. In Nottingham, Buttler showed that he’s still got it. The keeper-batter scored 36 off 21 as England thumped India by 125 runs.

But he was truly back in Southampton. Unlike the last few matches, Buttler raced off the blocks. He took Prasidh Krishna on. His unconventional swoops and ramps were back. He stepped out to thump sixes down the ground and shuffled to create room. Buttler’s entire playbook was on display.

Somehow, Suryansh Shedge managed to keep him quiet. But when the medium pacer returned for his second over, Buttler took him down. He scored his 29th fifty for England in 34 balls. It wasn’t his fastest but perhaps the one he needed the most. He kept chipping away little by little as Harry Brook smashed Indian bowlers to bits.

Buttler finally got a turn in the 15th over and smashed 4 boundaries (2 sixes and 2 fours) to storm into the 90s.