Published: Apr 14, 2016, 11:59 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 15, 2016, 12:08 AM (IST)
Gujarat Lions (GL) registered a fine victory against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in the sixth game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Rajkot on Thursday. Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum’s fiery knocks powered GL’s run chase and ensured they chased down a modest target of 164 with ease.
The Lions won the toss and opted to bowl first on a pitch which looked conducive for bowling as the surface had a lot of grass cover over it. RPS got off to a good start as Ajinkya Rahane looked to attack right from the outset. But soon he floundered to a delivery from leg-spinner Pravin Tambe.
Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis then ensured the run rate didn’t dip and kept attacking the GL bowlers. Du Plessis scored a scintillating 69 from 43 deliveries and played his part with the bat. Pietersen too played a good hand of 37 but soon after their dismissals, the RPS’ run rate went for a toss. Ravindra Jadeja did a commendable job with the ball as he chipped-in couple of wickets and gave away just 18 runs in his spell of four overs.
MS Dhoni’s-men lost the momentum in between as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals which didn’t let them achieve a big total. Dhoni’s cameo of 22 off just 10 deliveries ensured a fighting total of 163 in 20 overs. ‘Captain-cool’ squeezed 20 runs off the ultimate over as he went berserk and smashed a couple of boundaries and a six in the final over to Dwayne Bravo.
Chasing 164 is never an easy task against a decent bowling attack of RPS’ calibre but GL openers left no stone unturned when they started the run chase. Finch and McCullum got their team to a flying start as they attacked from the very first over. The duo stitched a match winning partnership at the top of 85 runs inside 9 overs. Finch went on to score another half-century and McCullum felt short of a single run to score another fifty as he fell for 49.
GL looked comfortable in the run chase and Bravo’s cameo of 22 from just 10 deliveries sealed the victory and avoided any friction whatsoever. Barring Ravichandran Ashwin, none of the bowler was spared as all witnessed the brutality of GL batsmen. McCullum and Finch were a delight to watch as they batted with immense confidence and probably turned the game. This was well the turning point of the game as they never let RPS get back into the game.
Brief Scores:
Rising Pune Supergiants 163 for 5 in 20 overs [Faf du Plessis 69(43), Kevin Pietersen 37(31); Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-18-2, Pravin Tambe 4-0-33-2] lost to Gujarat Lions 161 for 3 in 18 overs [Aaron Finch 50(36), Brendon McCullum 49(31); Murugan Ashwin 4-0-31-2, Ishant Sharma 4-0-39-1] by seven wickets.
(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)
