Ctrl-R finds commands that contain the string anywhere. The method the OP posted finds commands that begin with the string. This is an important difference, and if you give it a try, you'll likely agree the latter is what you want most of the time.
Thanks for the clarification - although depending upon how you work, this is not much of a benefit. For instance - if you type "/path/to/script.sh" you want to search for the name of the script - not the beginning of the path.
