Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 49
(Uncapped) Krunal Pandya out – Pravin Tambe in (if GL bowl first)/ Rajat Bhatia in (if RPSG bowl first)
Batting captain – Ajinkya Rahane
Bowling captain – Dwayne Bravo (if GL bowl first)/ Murugan Ashwin (if RPSG bowl first)
Add-on sub – Dwayne Smith
Batting captaincy options – Ajinkya Rahane, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina and Steve Smith
Steve Smith’s fantasy potential depends on how soon he arrives at the crease; anything after the 5th over, don’t expect much from him. And this is not a gamble I am willing to take especially on a dry wicket.
Pune’s best bet to get both Dwayne Smith and McCullum out is Murugan Ashwin, who is likely to come in only after the powerplay, so unless they gift their wickets away, both are likely to do a considerable amount of damage tonight. I can’t carry any of them to their second match, so I am keeping them out merely hoping they would fail.
By now you would have understood why I have never backed Raina, which leaves me with Rahane – the safest of them all.
Bowling captaincy options – Murugan Ashwin, Dwayne Bravo and Thisara Perera
Perera needs a lot of factors to go his way to be successful, as you might have seen in his last match. Between Bravo and Murugan, I will go with the bowler from the team that bowls first.
Nature of the deck – A Rajat Bhatia special, if the last match here is anything to go by.
Also read: IPL 2016: Suresh Raina has an interesting take on the battle between Tests and T20s
Gujarat Lions – where the match breaks
Like they did against the Delhi Daredevils, both Smith and McCullum need to take the match away from the opposition in the powerplay. Pune’s new ball bowling attack is the weakest in the tournament, and they can’t ask for a better day to do it.
Can Bravo rediscover his spark? With him in my team, I can only hope that the winning effort last game is the start of him getting on a wicket-taking spree again. If Dhoni doesn’t stonewall him, the Caribbean all-rounder has immense scope today.
Pune Supergiants – where the match breaks
How they replace Faf du Plessis – I haven’t seen anything conclusive about Usman Khawaja’s availability today, so it should be Ankush Bains replacing Faf at the top, with Peter Handscomb or Albie Morkel coming in to fill the 4th overseas spot. Handscomb has got a lot of potential but is raw and I really don’t see him winning matches if the deck assists spin. I would, therefore, prefer Albie, who gives Dhoni a new ball bowling option as well.
Stopping Smith and McCullum – It’s impossible to limit them from doing any damage in the powerplay if you are going to bowl the likes of Dinda and Perera, so they need to bring Ankit Sharma back to at least stop McCullum. If it still doesn’t work, there is no option but to bowl Murugan Ashwin in the powerplay. Leggies in first 6 is not usual, but as witnessed in the Daredevils match, it could be too late if you keep delaying them.
With all the attention on their openers, Raina could sneak in and provide a telling performance today if Ravichandran Ashwin doesn’t stop him.
Also read: IPL 2016: Suresh Raina says Jasprit Bumrah was always "Team India material"
Possible changes
Gujarat Lions – Shivil Kaushik/Shadab Jakati for Ishan Kishan
Pune Supergiants – Ankush Bains/Ankit Sharma for Saurabh Tiwary and Peter Handscomb for Faf du Plessis
Uncapped picks – Murugan Aswin (1), Rajat Bhatia (2), Pravin Tambe (3), Ankit Sharma (4) and Ankush Bains (5)
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