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

#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.