Today's IPL Match: Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants Preview, Time, Venue, IPL 2016 Match 6

It's Dhoni v Raina folks! Or should we exaggerate and say its Ram v Lakshman! Who would have imagined that these two guys will square off against each other in an IPL game. After being inseparable for 8 years as Superkings, Dhoni's Rising Pune Supergiants and Raina's Gujarat Lions will go head to head in Lion's den Rajkot on Thursday.

These two new teams of the IPL will locks horns at the SCA stadium which has traditionally been a high-scoring ground with some aid for the spinners. Of late, in the domestic games, spinners have wreaked havoc in Rajkot's turners. It will interesting to see whether we get a wicket that grips or a wicket full of runs that Rajkot is famous for.

Today’s Match Time: 8 PM IST

Match venue: Rajkot

Will the Lions roar?

Its their first game at their home ground. The team led by Suresh Raina comes with some momentum after having beaten the Kings XI Punjab convincingly in their first game. When it comes to batting they have one of the most explosive opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch.

Finch showed excellent form in the last game too. Raina would also dearly want to get amongst the runs and this will be an ideal game to stamp his authority. This match also provides Raina the opportunity to showcase his leadership skills since he is not be playing under the shadows of M.S Dhoni anymore.

Dinesh Karthik has been in good nick in the middle order but young Ishan Kishan is still to find his bearings in the IPL. What really stands out for the Lions is their battery of world class all-rounders. The champion- Dwayne Bravo, the finisher- James Faulkner and the home town lad Ravindra Jadeja. Bravo in particular, was superb with the ball last game where he restricted KXIP with his regular strikes. He went on to register his best IPL bowling figures of 4/22 in that game.

The spinners would like to exploit the conditions if there is turn available for them. The leg-spinner Sarabjit Ladda will bowl in tandem with Jaddu and might just have another leggie Praveen Tambe for the company as well. Tambe, 44, will be itching to get a game in Rajkot and might replace Pradeep Sangwan who was a touch expensive in the previous game. The pace duties will be handled by Lion's trio of medium pacers Praveen Kumar, Dwayne Bravo and James Faulkner.

Lions likely Eleven:

Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulker, Praveen Kumar, Sarabjit Ladda, Pravin Tambe/Pradeep Sangwan

Can the Supergiants rise again?

Rising Pune supergiants had a perfect start to their campaign when they outclassed the Mumbai Indians at Mumbai in the inaugural game of this IPL. It was completely a one-sided game that night and Pune might play the same side and hope for an encore.

Pune has the classy Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting with the South African batting star Faf Du Plessis. Both players exhibited their supreme touch in their opening game against Mumbai with Rahane winning the player of the match.

They are followed by the former English captain Kevin Pietersen, the current Australian captain Steven Smith and the supergiant's skipper and Indian limited overs captain, MS Dhoni. This is a middle order that evokes awe in the minds of the spectators and fear in the minds of the opponents. They are followed by the allrounders Rajat Bhatia and Aussie sensation Mitchell Marsh.

The bowling looks good too with a fresh Ishant Sharma opening the bowling with the experienced warhorse RP Singh. The two Ashwin's form a potent combination with Ravichandran Ashwin’s guile and Murugan Ashwin’s relatively unknown leg spinners. They will play a huge role if the track is dry. M Ashwin was particularly impressive on his debut and seems to possess a deceptive googly.

We also saw some smart bowling from Rajat Bhatia and Mitch Marsh and the Puneri paltan will hope for more of the same from them. IPL is desperately looking for a thriller after a series of lopsided games and one can only hope for a cracker of a game when these two in-form teams meet tonight.

Supergiants Likely Eleven:

Ajinkya Rahane, Faf Du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, MS Dhoni(C & wk), Rajat Bhatia, R Ashwin, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Ashwin