Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has heaped praises on his team for beating Chennai Super Kings in their season-opener in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this week.

Buttler, who missed the match against CSK due to quarantine guidelines, has said that he is looking forward to feature in Rajasthan’s next match against the Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.

“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,” said Buttler as per a release shared by the Royals.

“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, (there’s) lots of confidence after that first game,” he added.

The England batsman also hailed Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul who scored a brilliant 132 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore, a game which Kings XI won by 97 runs.

“The training has been very energetic, guys are lively and enjoying each other’s company. So yeah (it’s a) good atmosphere around (and we are) expecting a really tough match against Kings XI,” said Buttler.

“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,” he added

Rajasthan Royals began this year’s IPL campaign with a comprehensive win of 16 runs against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday at the Sharjah International Stadium.

Sanju Samson, with a blistering 32-ball knock of 74 runs, was the start of the night for the Royals. He was ably supported by skipper Steve Smith’s gritty innings of 69 runs off 47 balls and Jofra Archer’s fiery 8-ball cameo of 27 runs in the last over.

Rahul Tewatia with 3/37 was the pick of the bowlers as 2008 IPL champions successfully defended the 216 they had put on the board, despite Faf du Plessis’ efforts of 72 runs off 37 balls for the yellow team.