IPL 2018, KKR vs KXIP: 5 players battles to look forward to

Both teams are coming off clinical victories in their previous game and this afternoon’s match at the Eden Gardens between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab will be a battle between two excellent T20 sides.

KXIP completely destroyed the best bowling attack in the tournament in the last game and today they will come up against the bowling might of the KKR. Can they do it twice in a row? Time will tell, however, there is no doubt that the game will be shaped by some of the key individual battles.

So here is a look at the 5 most important head to head battles that will decide today’s showdown in Kolkata.

#5 Chris Lynn v Mujeeb Ur Rahman

KKR bought back Australian batsman Chris Lynn for a whopping Rs. 9.6 crores in this year’s IPL auction but so far the player has not been able to display the sort of brutal hitting that made him such a formidable force in T20 cricket.

He is striking at 120 (he has a career T20 strike rate of 147.12) and averaging 21.40 in this season’s IPL. Lynn’s biggest problem in the IPL so far has been his difficulties against spin and that is why the duel with KXIP’s Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman becomes such a crucial contest.

The right-hander has been dismissed by spinners thrice and in addition to that, he has only recorded a strike rate of 77.5 against spinners. On the other hand, the leg-spinner Mujeeb has proven to be one of the spin bowling stars of the tournament and has recorded an excellent economy rate of only 6.80 in 4 games so far. It will be difficult for Lynn to get on top of him but if he can find his touch against the spinner in today’s game, then it might turn out to be a match-winning effort.

#4 Andre Russell v Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye

The West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell has been the most potent power-hitter in the IPL so far and has shown time and again that he can turn a game on its head within a couple of overs. He has an incredible strike rate of 239.06, which is the highest in the tournament (minimum 100 balls faced) and what makes it even more impressive is the fact that he has recorded an average of 51.

His contributions towards the tail end of the innings are absolutely crucial for KKR and against the Kings XI Punjab, he will come up against one of the better death bowlers in the IPL in the form of Australian Andrew Tye.

The right-arm bowler’s changes of pace, lengths and slower balls have made him one of the most effective T20 bowlers in the world. In the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he bottled up the opposition and returned figures of 23/2 in 4 overs. In the slog overs of the KKR innings, this particular battle could prove to be absolutely crucial for the fortunes of both teams.

#3 Robin Uthappa v Ravichandran Ashwin

Robin Uthappa

The KKR batsman may not have scored big in any of the games so far but there is no doubt that Robin Uthappa is striking the ball as well as he ever has and a strike rate of 140.65 is proof of that. He got going in his last two games against the Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals and was particularly merciless against the spin bowlers.

Hence, his duel with Indian spinner and Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin could be one of the most crucial contests in the game today.

The KXIP captain is the leader of the potent spin attack and following his troubles in the IPL last year, the off-spinner has reinvented his game to emerge as an excellent limited overs spin bowler. Considering Uthappa’s penchant for attacking spinners from the outset, this clash could prove to be a pivotal one in the grander scheme of things.

If Ashwin can keep Uthappa quiet or take his wicket, then KXIP will have a far better chance of throttling the KKR batting line up.

#2 Sunil Narine v KL Rahul

Sunil Narine

KL Rahul’s abilities as a batsman have never been in doubt but in this year’s IPL he started off like an express train and other than the slight blip (18 off 21) in the last game against SRH, he has been superb for the KXIP all season. He is averaging 38.25 and more importantly, striking at 171.91. Rahul will try to get on top of the KKR bowlers from the outset and the duel against Sunil Narine is going to be an engrossing one.

The Trinidadian went for 48 in his quota of 4 overs against the Rajasthan Royals and Rahul would remember how Rahane went after him right from the start. He was hit for 4 fours off his first four balls and never quite recovered. That being said, Narine is arguably the best spin bowler in T20 cricket and he would definitely like to get back to his best today. These are players who are both coming off underwhelming performances, despite having been superb for the rest of the tournament and it is a battle that will have a bearing on the ultimate result of the game.

#1 Kuldeep Yadav v Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

The headline ahead of today’s game at the Eden Gardens is that Chris Gayle has slammed 532 runs in just 13 games against the KKR. He is the 4th highest scorer against what was his first IPL team and considering the sort of form he is in at the moment, there is every chance that he would end up making the excellent KKR bowling attack look foolish.

His unbeaten 104 against arguably the tournament’s best bowling attack has put all teams on alert and his treatment of Rashid Khan in the last game must not have been a pleasant watch for KKR’s spin trio. However, KKR’s spin attack has an extra dimension in the form of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and with the ball turning away from him, it is going to pose a fresh challenge for the Universe Boss.

Yadav has taken 6 wickets so far and has an economy rate of 7.96. There is hardly any doubt that his duel with Gayle is going to be the defining contest of this game. His range of deliveries and clever altering of lengths have proven to be challenging for most international batsmen and today’s contest with the Jamaican is going to be an absorbing one.

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