The 2022 Indian Premier League’s third match will see Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) face Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Sanju Samson-led RR are currently top of the table with two wins in as many games. Meanwhile RCB lost their opening game to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a high-scoring thriller but made a strong comeback to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second game.

Virat Kohli’s battle with RR’s dynamic spin-duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin is set to be a key battle to decide who emerges victorious on Tuesday evening. Ex-RCB player Chahal has made a formidable start to this RR career having taken 5 wickets in just 2 games. Meanwhile, Ashwin has 1 wicket in 2 games but his economy of 6.37 has been extremely impressive.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised Kohli on how he should approach the battle against the extremely experienced spin-bowling pair. The cricket-turned-commentator emphasised it’s important to constantly rotate the strike and urged him to use the paddle sweep.

“I think he should just play his game. I think he played very well in the first game, I liked the way he played. He used his feet, looked busy and was prepared to rock back well.

“What you want from Virat is to look busy. If you can’t hit the big ones, make sure you are rotating the strike and making the bowlers think. He will play his natural game,” said Shastri to Espn Cricinfo.

“He has to use the paddle sweep against these two. That’s a part of the game he has to work on. Opposition teams know that when he comes to bat, he doesn’t sweep (against the spinners). When you know that, the field placements can be done precisely. Once you start sweeping, I don’t care who the spinner is, you’re making him play,” Shastri added.