IPL 2018, RR vs MI: 5 player battles to look forward to 

The defending champions Mumbai Indians started off poorly as they crashed to three defeats in their first three games but in their previous game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, they stormed back into the tournament with a resounding victory. On the other hand, their opponents in tonight’s game, the Rajasthan Royals are coming off a bruising defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings and a game against the defending champions is perhaps not a prospect they would entirely relish.

That being said, RR would be playing at home and getting back to winning ways is of paramount importance for them. Another defeat could start a slide towards bottom placed irrelevance. The game would, of course, be decided by some of the head to head battles between these star-studded teams and here are 5 of them that fans would be most interested in.

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#5 K Gowtham v Evin Lewis

Krishnappa Gowtham went for 35 runs in 3 overs in his previous game against CSK and considering the fact that he opens the bowling for RR, he would need to improve those number tonight. However, he would come up against West Indian batsman Evin Lewis, who is among the most fearsome power-hitters in T20 cricket at the moment.

The left-hander got off to starts in all games but it was only in his last game that he really punished the opposition and that is not a pleasant prospect for a bowling attack that is already under the pump. Gowtham’s steady off-spin at the start of the innings could prove to be an excellent strategy to counter someone like Lewis but he has to get it right, otherwise, the game could slip away fairly quickly. It is a battle that will set the tone for the game.

#4 Ben Stokes v Mayank Markande

He is the best all-rounder in the world and ended up as the player of the tournament in last year’s IPL but Ben Stokes has not been at his best this year so far. A big game against the defending champions could just be the perfect occasion for him to come good. He is averaging 21.40 and striking at only 120.22 but in his last outing, he made 45 and seemed to have got back into some sort of hitting form. If he gets going, then MI might find themselves at a loss.

However, it is interesting to note that in 3 out of 5 innings, he has been dismissed by leg-spinners and therein lies the opportunity for Mayank Markande. He has been a revelation in the tournament so far and has taken 8 wickets so far, with an economy rate of 7.53. His duel against Stokes is going to be one of the most important ones in the game and if he can claim the England all-rounder’s wicket early, then RR’s innings could be derailed.

#3 Shreyas Gopal v Rohit Sharma

MI captain Rohit Sharma started the season slowly as he scored 15,11 and 18 in the first three games of their campaign. It was in the last game that he announced his return to form with a scintillating 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is back in form and in RR, he will face a bowling attack that must be short on confidence. If he carries on from where he left off against the RCB, then MI would almost certainly win the game and hence, RR need to find a solution to keeping the right-hander quiet.

He likes to bat against pace but in Shreyas Gopal, RR might just have the spin bowler who could hold his own against Rohit. Gopal is RR’s highest wicket-taker with 5 wickets and has recorded an outstanding economy rate of 5.92 in 5 games so far. His changes of pace, alteration of lengths and just enough turn have made him one of the most effective spinners in the IPL so far. If he can pick up Rohit Sharma’s wicket then RR would definitely be in with a bigger chance of winning this crucial game.

#2 Sanju Samson v Mitchell McClenaghan

Sanju Samson

With an average of 46.75 and a strike rate of 155.83, RR’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson is a player who Ian Chappell would have described as a ‘game breaker’. That being said, he got only 7 and 2 in his last two games and the incredible unbeaten 92 against RCB is now a distant memory. He bats at number 3 and hence, it is fairly important for RR that he comes good against in this crucial game.

Needless to say, MI would want to see the back of him quickly and one of the bowlers who has troubled him is MI’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan. The Kiwi has come up against Samson on 4 occasions and dismissed him every time, while at the same time the RR batsman has not been able to score much against him either. It is going to be a fascinating contest and will show whether Samson has evolved as a batsman.

#1 Ajinkya Rahane v Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah

The nature of T20 games is such that the opening skirmishes in an innings have a big say in how things pan out and in that regard, the contest between India team-mates Ajinkya Rahane and Jasprit Bumrah should have a huge bearing on the game. Rahane has brushed off his problem with slow starts which plagued him at the beginning of the tournament and is now striking at an impressive 141.74. If he is able to give RR a flying start then the power-hitters like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes could drive home the advantage later on in the innings.

That start will be crucial and the man who will come up against him will be Jasprit Bumrah, who will want to throttle the RR innings at the outset. The fast bowler bowls at the most difficult times in the innings and has recorded an impressive economy rate of 7.75, to go along with 5 wickets so far. So, this looks like the most important battle in tonight’s game, not only due to the influence it would have on the game but also because of the natural gifts of both these players.