Rising Pune Supergiants entertain the Gujarat Lions at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium, Pune. The Supergiants have struggled in their debut IPL 2016 season, but will be confident for the game against Gujarat Lions after their comprehensive win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game. Gujarat Lions, fellow debutants in the tournament has been impressive from the very start and has lost only a single game from their half a dozen matches, and sit pretty on the top of the table.
Confirmed Playing XI for RPS vs GL:
Gujarat Lions (Playing XI): Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik
Rising Pune Supergiants (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Peter Handscomb, Steven Smith, Saurabh Tiwary, MS Dhoni(w/c), Thisara Perera, Albie Morkel, Rajat Bhatia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Ashok Dinda
Rising Pune Supergiants had already faced Gujarat Lions in the 6th game of this IPL season at Rajkot. Batting first Pune had managed to score 163 for 5 at the end of their 20 overs helped by a great knock from Rahane and some hard-hitting by Dhoni towards the end. Gujarat easily chased down their target of 164 in only 18 overs after a blistering start from Finch and McCullum, while the later missed out on his half-century by a single run, Finch scored 50. Bravo finished off the job for the home side with his quick fire 22 from only 10 balls.
Let's see how RPS and GL could line up for this encounter:
Rising Pune Supergiants
Batsmen: Pune would not have looked to change their opening pair of Rahane and Faf du Plessis. Both openers had crossed the 200 run barrier in the games they had played, but with the injury to Faf, it becomes a necessary change. Enter Peter Handcomb, the Australian southpaw has been in scintillating form since the Big Bash, and will be a welcome addition to any squad.
Next to the crease for the Supergiants will be the Aussie captain Steve Smith who stayed unbeaten against the Sunrisers and the Pune fans will hope he continues from where he left against Hyderabad. At number 4 Saurabh Tiwary is set to walk in for Pune but the southpaw from Ranchi who had been named in the starting 11 in Pune's last two games is yet to face a ball in this IPL. The Indian and Pune captain MS Dhoni will come in to bat at Number 5.
All Rounders: Mitch Marsh, Thisara Perera, and Rajat Bhatia are likely to be the three all-rounders. Marsh hasn't got much a look-in with the bat this season but he has been impressive with bowl picking up 4 wickets in the three games he has played, bowling at an economy of 5 runs per over. Thisara Perera has impressed with both bat and bowl this season, scoring runs at a strike rate of 174 and has been regular among the wickets. Rajat Bhatia with his immense experience is an asset to any team.
Bowlers: R and M Ashwin the dual spin force of Pune have been impressive this season. The leggie Murugan Ashwin who was a net bowler for CSK is playing his maiden IPL and has impressed with his bowling abilities picking up 7 wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin hasn't been among the wickets this IPL picking up only 2, but has been very disciplined with his bowling and has an economy rate of 6.5.
Ashok Dinda played his first game this season for Pune against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and picked 3 wickets giving away just 23 runs and the pacer from Bengal is likely to keep his place in the first 11.
Probable Playing 11: Ajinkya Rahane, Peter Handcomb, Steve Smith, Saurabh Tiwary, MS Dhoni (C) (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Thisara Perera, Rajat Bhatia, R. Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, M. Ashwin
Click Next to continue reading the Probable XI for Gujarat Lions.
Gujarat Lions:
Batsmen: Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum will open the batting for the Gujarat Lions. Smith replacing Finch in the playing 11 has been a hit. In the last game, Smith and McCullum literally tore the Delhi bowling line up apart at the Feroz Shah Kotla, both scoring fifties in their win over the Daredevils.
Suresh Raina, the highest run-getter in the history of the IPL and Gujarat captain will be in at number 3. Dinesh Karthik walks into bat at number 4 and the wicket-keeper batsman has proven over the years how good he can be with the bat. India's captain for the 2016 U-19 World Cup Ishan Kishan is likely to retain his place and come to bat at number 5.
All-Rounders: Gujarat's set of all-rounders is simply awe-inspiring. With the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, and James Faulkner. Both Jadeja and Bravo have been regulars in the Gujarat side, Jadeja has picked up 4 wickets this season and has been hard to put away, whereas Bravo has been amazing with the ball picking up 7 wickets and his bowling at the death has been very impressive.
With the bat, Bravo has played brilliant little cameos, the one against Supergiants comes to mind. Faulkner has been in and out of the Gujarat first 11 and though he impressed with the bat against the Daredevils scoring 22 runs from 13 balls, he was very expensive with the ball, going for 23 in his 2 overs. It is likely he will retain his place against Pune. The Gujarat captain, Suresh Raina can come in handy with his off spin and might bowl a few overs if any of his regular bowlers go for runs.
Bowlers: Both Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni have been very good with the bowl for Gujarat. While Praveen went for just 13 runs in his 4 overs against Delhi without any success, Kulkarni picked up 3 wickets giving away just 19 runs from his 4 overs. Dhawal Kulkarni has been amongst the wickets for Gujarat while Praveen Kumar has complemented his efforts with some precise bowling. Pravin Tambe, the veteran of club cricket in Mumbai shot to the limelight in his debut IPL season in 2013 for the Rajasthan Royals and has not looked back since then. He has already picked up 5 wickets this term and the Rising Pune Supergiants would be worried about his leg-spin.
Probable Playing 11: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (C), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe
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