IPL 2018 SRH vs KXIP: 5 player battles to look forward to between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab

#1 Rashid Khan v KL Rahul

Rashid Khan has been SRH's go-to bowler

The previous game between these two sides saw SRH’s star leg-spinner being taken to the cleaners. He fared poorly in his next game against the Chennai Super Kings as well but then he made a slight adjustment to his length and bowled back of a length in his previous game against the Mumbai Indians. The results were devastating as he returned with figures of 2 for 11 in four overs and helped SRH defend a paltry score of 118.

So, it is a new version of Khan that KXIP’s batting star KL Rahul will come up against and it might not be as easy to take liberties against him tonight. The right-handed batsman has been in supreme form this year and has taken plenty of attacks apart in this year’s IPL so far. The contest between these two will be an important one and if Rahul can get on top of Rashid as soon as he comes on to bowl, then there is every chance of the SRH bowling attack falling apart like it did last time. He is averaging 39.33 and striking at just above 180. This is a contest that will almost definitely have a huge bearing on the ultimate outcome of the game.