IPL 2018, RR vs KKR: 5 players battles to look forward to between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders
The two in-form teams meet this evening at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium at Jaipur this evening and promises to be a hard-fought contest. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are 2nd in the table after having won 2 games and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are at 5th with the same number of wins. However, RR have played one fewer game than KKR (4).
As ever, a big game like this is ultimately going to be decided by some of the individual battles that are going to take place this evening and here are 5 of those which everyone is going to be looking forward to with eagerness.
#5 Sunil Narine v Ajinkya Rahane
The Trinidadian is the pre-eminent spin bowler in the tournament and has been so ever since he first played in the IPL, back in 2012. His overs are vital to the KKR bowling effort and so far, Sunil Narine has captured 7 wickets in 4 games with an economy rate of 5.46.
Those are remarkable figures, however, at the same time, the key to breaking the back of the KKR bowling attack is to somehow get on top of the spinner, and RR captain Ajinkya Rahane might just be the man for the job. If Narine takes the new ball, then it is fairly logical for Rahane to go after him and he has the skills to take him on. That being said, Narine has flummoxed some of the biggest hitters in the game throughout his career and Rahane would really need to raise his game if he has to successfully attack him. If it works, then it could be a match-turning effort.