IPL 2022, RR vs KKR: 3 player battles to watch out for

According to the IPL schedule, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) mighty batting unit will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday (April 18). Both sides are coming off losses after a strong start to the tournament.

The Royals and Knights are placed fourth and fifth in the IPL points table respectively, with six points each. A win today will see one of them break into the Top 4.

While the men in purple seem to look like a more rounded unit with every game, Rajasthan will head into the clash as favorites based on their line-up.

This also makes for interesting player clashes with both sides loaded with big names. Ahead of the key clash that promises to make up for the Monday morning blues, we take a look at the player batters to watch out for.

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#1 Ravichandran Ashwin vs Nitish Rana

It has been a rather stop-start IPL 2022 for KKR's middle-order batter Nitish Rana. With just one half-century and a couple of starts to show for, he will be hoping to get consistent as IPL teams look to get down to business.

Rana's explosive starts look promising, but he does fall, trying to assert his dominance — a fact Ravichandran Ashwin would have made note of. The spinner hasn't had much luck against Rana, but will today be the day it changes?

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#2 KKR pace spearhead Umesh Yadav vs Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler has been mercurial for RR with his scintillating batting. The gloveman has a century and a couple of fifties in the tournament. His ability to anchor in the latter stages of the innings while going hammer and tongs during the powerplay.

Buttler is the IPL 2022's leading run-scorer with 272 runs from five matches at an average of 68 and a strike rate of 152.80.

He will be up against KKR pace spearhead Umesh Yadav, who has made a comeback of sorts with 10 wickets so far this season. His accurate length vs. Buttler's hit-on-the-rise makes for a humdinger of a contest.

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#3 Andre Russell vs Trent Boult

Such is the experience between both these two players that it's hard to pick a winner. KKR's Andre Russell and Royals' Trent Boult have been around in the IPL long enough to see how the final stages of a game need to end.

The Kiwi quick has dismissed Russell twice in their encounters in the IPL so far, while the West Indies hard-hitter has been in good touch in this edition. Their clash will most likely determine the outcome of the game.