IPL 2016, GL vs KKR Playing 11: Probable XI for Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders

Here's a look at the team which may play for GL on Thursday:

Batting

The openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have been getting the team off to decent starts. Although both haven’t quite matched the standards of their stints from the previous seasons the team has done well enough to stay in the top four or five positions.

McCullum has scored 267 runs in 12 innings and has only one score of above fifty to his name. Smith has 213 runs in 8 innings with 2 fifties. It has been their collective effort that has been effective for the team

Suresh Raina will be back in the side after missing out on the last game. He is expected to replace Akshdeep Nath. He too hasn’t flourished in the league and has managed only one half-century. He has bundled 286 runs in the tournament so far.

He was a premier batsman for CSK and consistently got over 400 runs in previous seasons. He has not been anywhere closer to the typical Raina that we are used to seeing.

Dinesh Karthik has played some important innings and scored 3 fifties so far. Aaron Finch is the leading run scorer for them with 313 runs in 8 innings. He has averaged 52 and scored 4 half-centuries. Their batting line-up is full of international stars and they do need them to score big to ensure a playoff spot.

All-rounders

GL have Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo which are two of the best all-rounders in the world. Jadeja hasn’t done a lot with the bat as well as with the bowl. He has scored 137 runs with the bat and picked up just 6 wickets in 11 games.

Bravo has scalped 12 wickets but has been conceding more than 9 runs an over. With the bat, he has only 71 runs in 11 innings.

Bowling

The new ball bowlers Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni have picked up 7 and 11 wickets respectively. Both have decent economy rates of around 7.5 which is more than acceptable in T20 cricket. They received a hammering at the hands of Kohli and de Villiers in the last game, but have done well at the death overs, especially Praveen Kumar.

Shivil Kaushik has foxed the batsmen at times with his unorthodox action and has best bowling figure of 20/3. Pravin Tambe is the other spinner in the team who can be useful with his leg spin.

Probable Playing XI

Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Shivil Kaushik