Published: Apr 14, 2016, 10:06 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 14, 2016, 12:53 PM (IST)
After successful beginning to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 campaign, Gujarat Lions will clash against another new entrant Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajkot on Friday. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni might have played in the same franchise earlier, this time they will be pitting against each other. Both the teams are at the same level in the tournament but one of these will have a loss after this fixture.GL had a thrilling finish to the match against Kings XI Punjab with Aaron Finch and Dinesh Karthik helping their side cruise through the chase. Despite Dwayne Bravo’s 4-for, KXIP managed to put up a decent total as the bowlers failed to do their part in the first inning. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 6 at Rajkot
Raina has been exceptional in every season, though he wished he could have continued the same against KXIP after the impetus he provided to the team. GL have many options to play around and can make slight change for yet another win. As GL clash against RPS, here are the likely XI for the former:
Top-Order: The World No.2 T20 batsman, Finch gave a crackling opening to GL with 47-ball 74 that included 12 fours. Keeping him at the No.1 position has definitely done wonders for GL. Though, McCullum was not his usual best in the opening match, he can knock out the opponent especially pacers like Mitchell Marsh, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma. Raina might not have received the required start he was aiming for, but the batsman that he has proven to be in past seasons of IPL can surely give a positive start to GL. His push of 20 runs against KXIP that comprised of a boundary and two sixes was enough to show what he can do to take his team ahead.
Middle-Order: GL will surely go for Dinesh Karthik at No. 4. Just when Finch required a strong partnership and support on the other side in their previous match, Karthik was just the batsman giving the required support with his valuable 41 from 26 including 7 fours. After the middle-order was not at it’s best, GL will surely bring slight change by bringing Eklavya Dwivedi at No.5. He remained his best at Syed Mushtaq Ali and after giving the perfect start to his team, Dwivedi could be the option. Next in line is another hard-hitter, Dwayne Bravo at No. 6. He can be handy to give that finishing touch especially while chasing in crunch situations. Ravindra Jadeja can come much below the order at No.7 after his poor show of just 8 runs against KXIP. READ: Rising Pune Supergiants vs Gujarat Lions 2016, Match 6 at Rajkot, Preview: The clash of new entrants
Lower-Order and Bowling: No.8 and No.9 can easily be handled by new entry Dale Steyn and Pradeep Sangwan/ Sarabjeet Ladda as they will hardly receive any opportunity to come and face the strike with a strong batting line up, while No.10 will be easily taken forward by Praveen Kumar.
As for the bowling department, the way Bravo gave the perfect start for GL in the opening match will play a key role once again as they face a strong batting line up of RPS. With Steyn coming into picture, it will be important for the pacers to take lead for GL. Of course, who will open the attack for GL remains a question as Praveen Kumar also has decent IPL figures and then you have Steyn. As for spinners, Jadeja can show wonders with his spin attack and can pick crucial wickets after the powerplay. Sarabjit Ladda did prove to be expensive for GL conceding 21 from 2 overs but GL require spinners and might just stick with him for the next match as well, so a tie between Ladda and Sangwan.
Gujarat Lions Likely XI (Batting Order): Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Eklavya Dwivedi, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Dale Steyn, Pradeep Sangwan/ Sarabjeet Ladda, Praveen Kumar.
(Shruti Hariharan is Content Writer with CricketCountry. You can follow her on Twitter at @Shruti_2890)
