IPL 2018: Key player battles

#2 Suresh Raina v Manish Pandey

Raina recently made a comeback to the Indian T20 side

This will be one of the most interesting player battles. The Kolkata Knight Riders star batsman Manish Pandey will be up against Suresh Raina.

Raina is the leading run scorer in the IPL with 4540 runs in 161 games. Manish Pandey has scored 2215 runs at an average of 28.39.

Pandey will be one of the keys to Hyderabad's success this year. Both of these batsmen are expected to bat in the No. 3 or 4 slots for their respective franchises. Raina will be high on confidence after his recent performances in the Nidahas Trophy.

Raina will look to make this opportunity count. The all-rounder will look to perform exceptionally in this year's IPL in order to make a comeback.

On the other hand, Pandey can seal a permanent spot in India's playing XI with his form in the IPL. The 28-year-old scored 396 runs at an average of 49.50 in the previous edition of the IPL.