Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be locking horns with each other in the 30th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Monday at the Brabourne Stadium. The Royals have won 3 out of 5 matches in the season so far and they are currently placed in the 5th position in the points table. They lost their last game against Gujarat Titans (GT) by 37 runs after failing to chase a target of 193 runs.
On the other hand, KKR has witnessed a mixed journey in the tournament so far. They have managed to win 3 and lose the same number of matches in the tournament. KKR is currently standing at the 6th position in the IPL 2022 points table. They have lost their last 2 matches.
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KKR’s last match was against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which they lost by 7 wickets after scoring 175 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. In terms of head-to-head stats, Kolkata marginally leading the charts as they have won 13 games out of the 24 they have played against each other so far. However, since 2018, it has been skewed in favor of KKR, who have won 7 games of their 9 clashes. On that note, We take a look at the three player battles to watch out for when both sides meet for the first time in IPL 2022.
#1 Umesh Yadav vs Jos Buttler
Umesh Yadav has been on a roll for KKR with 10 wickets from six matches at an average of 16.23 and has proven to be effective at both ends of the game. Facing that pace will be Rajasthan’s in-form batter Jos Buttler, who followed up his ton against Mumbai with a half-centuries against Bangalore and Gujarat. The Englishman is the leading run-scorer in IPL 2022 at the moment with 272 runs from five matches.
#2 Shreyas Iyer vs Trent Boult
This is a contest that Shreyas Iyer has so far dominated, with the KKR skipper has never been dismissed by Trent Boult in three encounters. However, the Kiwi has picked up seven wickets in the tournament so far and is the side’s second-most economical bowler (7.25) after Yuzvendra Chahal (6.8). Iyer has looked fluent so far in the tournament, getting his side off to starts, and he will be keen to get the better of the seamer once again when they meet at the Brabourne stadium.
#3 Andre Russell vs Yuzvendra Chahal
The leg-spinner has had the better of KKR all-rounder, Andre Russell, just one time in their six T20 clashes, and having him bowl an over in the powerplay might not be a bad ploy. The flamboyant all-rounder has notched up a fifty in the edition so far, but he does face a stiff challenge with Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin bowling in tandem. With both tweakers proving to be pretty miserly, Russell might have to work hard for his runs.
