Published: Apr 14, 2016, 11:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 15, 2016, 12:07 AM (IST)
Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch’s fine knock guides Gujarat Lions (GL) to a comprehensive seven-wicket win against Rising Pune Super Giants (RPS) in Match 6 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Rajkot. With this win GL go to the top of the IPL 2016 table with four points in two matches. Finch and McCullum put on 85 for the first wicket against some hapless bowling from RPS. But RPS found their first breakthrough in the ninth over with 85 runs on the board. Finch was the first man out for 50 off 36. This is Finch’s second fifty in as many matches. McCullum then consolidated the innings well with skipper Suresh Raina, who put 35, before McCullum departed trying to pull Ishant Sharma. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), IPL 2016, Match 6 at Rajkot
Dwayne Bravo walked in at No. 4 and after having a look for a couple of deliveries, he started taking on the bowlers. Ishant was his first victim as smashed consecutive boundaries off Ishant in the 16th over. But Raina was stumped off Murugan Ashwin after he charged down the track to the leg spinner. But GL needed less than six an over at this stage. Bravo and Jadeja then knocked off the remaining runs, without any further hiccups. RPS will be utterly disappointed with their bowling and their fielding. They will have to improve in their upcoming games. Full Cricket Updates Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), IPL 2016, Match 6 at Rajkot: RPS lose momentum
Earlier, Faf du Plessis‘ half-century had propelled RPS to 163 for 5 in their 20 overs against GL. Ajinkya Rahane and du Plessis had come on to open the innings and Rahane had gotten himself off to a good start. He looked to carry on his momentum from the previous match, but his innings was cut short as he was trapped in front by Pravin Tambe. Kevin Pietersen walked in at No. 3 and was looking in excellent form. He built a 84-run stand for the third wicket with du Plessis and that seemed to have set the tone for the middle-order, which consists of MS Dhoni, Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh.
But then, RPS lost three wickets in quick time as Pietersen, Smith and Marsh were dismissed in the span of 14 deliveries. Tambe, who was not picked for the first match eventually finished with figures of 2 for 33, scalping Rahane and Tambe along the way. Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja too did a good job in the latter stages of the innings, not allowing the batsmen any free runs.
Jadeja eventually finished with figures of 2 for 18 in his four overs, that brought GL back into the game. In the end, RPS will feel that they have fallen about 15-20 runs short. Things were looking good when Pietersen and du Plessis were batting well, but after they fell in quick time, GL found no momentum whatsoever. Dhoni however managed to get RPS to a good score, scoring 20 off the final over from Dwayne Bravo.
RPS had won the toss and elected to bat first. RPS did not make any changes from the side that beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their first match. GL on the other hand made three changes, one of which was the inclusion of Tambe.
Brief Scores:
Rising Pune Supergiants: 163 for 5 in 20 Overs (Faf du Plessis 69, Kevin Pietersen 37; Pravin Tambe 2 for 33, Ravindra Jadeja 2 for 18) lost to Gujarat Lions 164 for 3 (Aaron Finch 50, Brendon McCullum 49; Ishant Sharma 1 for 39, Murugan Ashwin 2 for 31) by 7 wickets.
Man of the match: Aaron Finch
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
