DC beat KXIP in Super Over; Butler to miss RR’S opening tie
DUBAI: England’s Jos Butler will miss the opening game for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League due his quarantine ater arriving in the UAE.
Meanwhile, a brilliant all-round effort from Marcus Stoinis along with sharp bowling from Kagiso Rabada in the Super Over helped Delhi Capitals beat Kings XI Punjab at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Both sides ended their respective 20 overs on 157/8 ater which KXIP managed to score just two runs bating first in the Super Over.
DC took three balls to go past that total and get off to a winning start in the season.
Butler has to undergo a six-day isolation ater joining Royals following the end of England’s limited overs series against Australia on Sept.16 in Manchester.
“I’m unfortunately going to miss the first match for Rajasthan because I’m going to be doing my quarantine period because I’m here with my family,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said on Instagram.
“It’ll be a huge help in lockdown having my family here with me.”
Butler, along with fellow Englishman Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, and Australia’s Steve Smith, is a key part of the Royals team, which has Shane Warne as their mentor.
Stokes is expected to miss the first few games for Royals, who won the inaugural IPL in 2008 under Warne’s captaincy, as he is in New Zealand with his ailing father, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer.
“Ben is taking some family time at the moment,” said Butler.
“Everyone wishes well with him, everyone’s got him in our thoughts. Obviously ( he is) such a good player that (we hope) at some point he will be able to join us in pink.”
Meanwhile Royals capitan Smith trained with the team ahead of their first game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday in Sharjah, brushing aside concussion fears he carried from the England series.
Smith was struck on the side of the helmet during training and was ruled out of the three England one-day games with signs of concussion.
Separately, leading cricketers from Mumbai Indians and CSK have been slammed for their “healthy waistlines” during the opening match of the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi.
Some players were returning to professional cricket for the first time in six months ater global sport was put on hold amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The virus-delayed Twenty20 tournament was postponed and then moved to the UAE, with India’s cricket-crazy fans watching Chennai outplay Mumbai on Saturday on their televisions and mobile phones.