IPL 2018, RR v CSK: 5 player battles to look forward to in the game

#4 K Gowtham vs Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu has been one of the most prolific scorers in the IPL so far and finds himself at number 5 in the run-scorers list in the tournament, with an aggregate of 423 runs. He has been responsible for getting CSK off to scorching starts and he is expected to open against tonight.

The right-handed batsman has recorded a brilliant strike rate of 151.61 but what is more impressive is the fact that he is mighty dangerous during the Powerplays. Only once has he been dismissed in that phase and in addition to that, he has scored at a rate of 9.64 per over so far (data from Cricinfo).

So, RR must find a way of keeping him in check during the Powerplay and one bowler who could do the job is their all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. He has been an excellent bowler for them in the Powerplays and in fact, with a haul of 5 wickets so far, he has been the RR’s most potent bowlers in that phase (data from Cricinfo). Can he do the trick tonight against Rayudu or will the CSK batsman swat him away?