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

#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.