On the eve of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jos Buttler said they need to put a better show in the middle overs with both bat and ball if they are to bounce back in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
With only 2 wins from 6 games, Royals are currently languishing at the seventh position in the eight-team points table.
“It’s been a frustrating start to the season for us. We haven’t had the results we would have liked. I think we’ve played well in phases but haven’t been able to put games to bed with bat, ball or in the field,” Buttler said in the pre-match press conference.
“We’ve let ourselves down in certain situations and given the points table we need to get it right as soon as possible to make sure that we’re still challenging to make the play-offs.
“Every game is a new opportunity for someone to stand up and put in a great performance and we know in T20 cricket, anything can happen and things tend to turn around very quickly.”
A win over the Sunrisers can potentially help RR climb up the ladder.
“We know we need to put in consistent performances if we want to have a shot at the playoffs. We need to work hard, it’s a tough competition. There are some great teams in here and we need to work hard with our practice and preparations going into the games.
“Sanju’s (Samson) been very consistent in his messaging and how he wants us to play, express ourselves and make sure we enjoy the tournament,” said Buttler.
According to Buttler, playing successive afternoon matches might help his franchise.
“We have seen and experienced how the pitch behaved in our last game, and I reckon we have a fair bit of an idea as to what to expect from the conditions now.
“The pitch looks like it can pretty much remain the same throughout the 40 overs, so we are confident we can take the learnings from our last match and apply ourselves to the best of our abilities tomorrow,” he added.
Buttler is also wary of the threat posed by SRH’s star players such as Rashid Khan, David Warne and Kane Williamson.
“The Sunrisers have a really strong team. They’ve got some fantastic players, the likes of Rashid Khan, Warner, and Williamson. We know that on their day they can be one of the best teams in the competition, and we will be wary of that.
“It is important for us to manage the in-game situations well, and execute our plans with full focus and determination, along with being a bit ruthless when we have the opportunity to be,” he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
