XtraTime Web Desk: England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler is all set to make his first appearance for Rajasthan Royals in the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) against Kings XI Punjab at Sharjah Stadium on Sunday. The Royals will be looking to make it two out of two in what promises to be an exciting contest. Both teams will be looking to get that important second win for them and continue their good starts in the tournament.
The availability of Buttler will be a huge boost for the Royals as he was a prolific scorer for the franchise in the previous edition of IPL. The England cricketer has now finished his mandatory quarantine having arrived with his family separately. This means that coach McDonald will now have some big decisions to make ahead of the second match.
All the other players with the exception of Ben Stokes remain available for the match. After the big win over CSK, the onus will be on the Royals to get out there and win their second game in a row to continue this good start and keep the momentum going. Kings XI have done really well with both the bat and bowl in the last game and would be riding on a high after their dominating performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Speaking ahead of his first match of the season, Jos Buttler said, “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. 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.”