Gujarat Lions come face-to-face against Sunrisers Hyderabad one last time in the VIVO IPL 2016 as they fight it out to make it to a final bout against Royal Challengers Bangalore. After a tremendous run in the league stage of the tournament, debutants Gujarat faltered in the first qualifier as they gave in to the brilliance of a certain AB de Villiers, allowing RCB to qualify for the final. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, recovered from their loss against KKR in the last league match to beat the same team quite comprehensively in the eliminator and set up a clash against the Lions.
It has been a good all-round performance by the Gujarat Lions players, they have managed to do well in both departments, batting and bowling. The most striking aspect about their performance this season has been the fact that they have not relied on one or two individuals to produce the goods.
Hyderabad, though, have relied quite heavily on a couple of batsmen to do the bulk of the scoring for them. The bowlers, though, have produced a team effort and have all played their respective roles in taking SRH to within one step away from a spot in the final.
The second qualifier of the 2016 IPL promises to be a tough battle as both teams will give their all to make it to their first ever IPL final.
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi
Match date: 27 May 2016
Match timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT
If Gujarat Lions bat first
Predicted score: 160 and above
Skipper Suresh Raina has enjoyed reasonable success as a batsman in this edition of the IPL and is Gujarat's leading run-scorer with 398 runs. Aaron Finch has also looked in good touch as he has a tally of 343 runs from 11 innings with 4 half-centuries and averages just over 38. Dwayne Smith has been an impressive performer this season with 323 runs at a strike rate of more than 148.
Brendon McCullum has not fired as much as he is capable off but has still managed to get 322 runs under his belt. Dinesh Karthik, too, has played a few fine knocks for the Lions and scored more than 300 runs including 3 half-centuries.
A superb performance in the first qualifier against Royal Challengers Bangalore propelled Dhawal Kulkarni to the list of leading wicket-takers for Gujarat this year. The seamer picked up 4 for 14 in a losing cause to take his wickets tally to 18 in the tournament. Dwayne Bravo has claimed 15 wickets in the ongoing IPL season so far.
Praveen Kumar, too, has shown decent form with the bat as he has picked 9 wickets in 15 matches and has been quite economical. Smith has done a good job with the ball, too, and recorded the best bowling figures for Gujarat Lions this season when he grabbed 4 for 8 against KKR in a league match.
The spinners have also not done too badly for them as Ravindra Jadeja has taken 7 wickets whereas leggie Pravin Tambe also took 5 wickets in the 7 matches he played. Young chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik also created an impression for a brief period with 4 wickets.
If Sunrisers Hyderabad bat first
Predicted score: 165 and above
The Sunrisers have had a predominantly top-heavy batting performance in this year's IPL with the openers doing most of the scoring. Skipper David Warner has been in outstanding form as he is the second highest run-getter in the tournament with 686 runs and as many as 7 half-centuries. His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, has also enjoyed a pretty successful tournament with 473 runs from 15 innings.
None of the other batsmen for SRH have made a major impact thus far in the 2016 IPL. Yuvraj Singh, though, has started to show signs of getting back his touch with a couple of strokeful 40s which proved to be match-winning efforts for his team. All-rounder Moises Henriques, too, looked good in the eliminator against KKR but was guilty of throwing his wicket away.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack has been arguably the best in this season of the IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been their most successful bowler with 21 wickets and currently holds the Purple Cap for most wickets in the tournament. New recruit Mustafizur Rahman has been on fire and managed to win quite a few admirers for his exemplary bowling. The Bangladeshi pacer has 16 wickets already and boasts of an economy of under 7.
Barinder Sran has provided some great backup to the Kumar-Rahman pair and has managed to grab 13 wickets of his own. Henriques has also been quite impressive with the ball as he has a tally of 12 wickets from 15 matches. The spinners, on the other hand, haven't bowled well enough in the few chances they have got and may not have much of a role to play in Hyderabad's next match, too.
Probable Winners: Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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