IPL 2021, We Haven't Been Able To Put Games To Bed: Jos Buttler

Rajasthan Royal's opening batsman Jos Buttler said that his team needs to be consistent if it is to succeed against SunRisers Hyderabad in Sunday's encounter.

"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 the bat, ball, or in the field," said the member of England's 2019 World Cup-winning team in a statement issued by Rajasthan Royals.

"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 playoffs. 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," he added.

A seven-wicket loss against Mumbai means the Royals remain seventh in the table after six games. Sunday's match can potentially help them 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 been very consistent in his messaging and how he wants us to play, express ourselves and make sure we enjoy the tournament," said Buttler.

The experienced batsman also reckons that playing successive afternoon matches might help the Royals.

"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.