Rajasthan Royals' wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has said that he is expecting a really tough match against KL Rahul-led Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rajasthan Royals and KXIP are slated to lock horns against each other on Sunday, September 27 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Buttler had missed Rajasthan Royals' first match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the wicket-keeper batsman was undergoing quarantine with his family.
A Rajasthan Royals official had told ANI that Buttler wasn't part of the bubble that was created for the players travelling from the UK to UAE and that is the reason he had to do a full six-day quarantine.
Rajasthan Royals had defeated CSK by 16 runs in their opening fixture of the IPL 2020 and now the side would look to carry their winning momentum.
"Great to get a win on the board. The team played fantastically well in the first game. It was an outstanding batting performance and a fantastic bowling performance in tough bowling conditions.
“I am really excited to play my first game, it was great to be back in training with the boys. There's a great vibe around the team so I'm really looking forward to taking the field. The atmosphere and energy around the squad is fantastic, obviously lots of confidence after that first game," Buttler said in an official release issued by the Royals.
"The training has been very energetic, guys are lively and enjoying each other's company. So yeah good atmosphere around, expecting a really tough match against Kings XI. Obviously a fantastic team, KL Rahul was in exceptional form the other night against RCB, so he will be a key wicket as always and I think we'll see another potentially high-scoring game at Sharjah with small boundaries and the dew factor coming in. Can't wait to get back out there," he added.
Sanju Samson was awarded Man of the Match for his knock of 74 runs from 32 balls which helped Rajasthan Royals reach 216/7 in the allotted twenty overs against CSK. During the course of his innings, Samson smashed nine sixes and one four.
Skipper Steve Smith made 69 runs. The game-changing moment came in the final over of Rajasthan's innings with Jofra Archer smashing CSK's Lungi Ngidi for 30 runs.
While defending the score, Rahul Tewatia took three crucial wickets -- Shane Watson, Sam Curran, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The spinner ended up with the figures of 3-37 from his four overs.
For CSK, Faf du Plessis top-scored with 72 from 37 balls. The MS Dhoni-led side posted 200 in the end but lost the match by 16 runs.
On the other hand, KXIP is also coming off a strong performance as the side defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 97 runs. For KXIP, KL Rahul played a knock of 132 runs and this is the highest knock registered by Indian player in the history of IPL.
