After having a successful season last year, where they featured in the playoffs, Gujarat Lions (GL) had a lot of problems to sort out before going into IPL 2017. Their bowling was probably the weakest of all but consistent performances from their batsmen had masked the weak link to some extent.
It was expected that GL would strengthen their bowling by buying few good fast bowlers at the auctions prior to the ongoing IPL, but the GL think tank thought otherwise and went for the Englishman Jason Roy, despite having three openers in the side. There’s no respite in a quality league such as IPL and the Lions have paid the price for poor bowling as they find themselves knocked out of the tournament before even playing their full quota of 14 games.
While Dwayne Bravo’s injury came as a body blow for the already iffy bowling attack, their batsmen have failed to shoulder the extra responsibility to carry the team into the playoffs. Things are spiralling down for Gujarat Lions even as they look to salvage some pride at the fag-end of the league stage.
GL’s bowling has struggled big time, at home as well as away. The opposition teams have exploited the inexperienced bowling attack and have put GL batsmen under constant pressure of either having to put those extra runs on the board or to chase down mammoth targets.
The inclusion of the Aussie pacer, Andrew Tye, revived their beleaguered campaign and raised hopes of a berth in the playoffs despite the initial blip. The wily seamer amazed everyone with his variations and was the go-to man for GL. And for a brief period then, it felt like everything was falling into place, and the Raina-led team could be in contention for the playoffs.
But, the destiny seemed to have other plans as the Australian was ruled out of the IPL after he picked up a shoulder injury trying to stop a boundary, thus adding to the ever-growing list of injured players in this season.
And as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, Brendon McCullum, one of the leading run-scorers for GL, too was ruled out of the IPL after he worsened his hamstring niggle. There are many things that this year’s IPL will be remembered for, but it’s sad that injuries will be one of them.
Extra cover: IPL 2017, Sunrisers Hyderabad fact file
In the midst of all this melancholy, there is a bright spot in form of Basil Thampi. The Kerala speedster has impressed with his pace and the ability to bowl yorkers at will. Though he has gone for runs, the young bowler has taken important wickets in many games and has shown signs of becoming a good bowler in future.
With just one game to go, the Lions would love to end their campaign on a winning note and give their fans a memorable end to what has been a rather disappointing season.
Here are few interesting facts about the Gujarat Lions:
0 - Number of times Gujarat Lions have defended a total in IPL 2017. They have lost all the seven games.
1 - Gujarat Lions are the only side with both batting and bowling run-rate of above 9 in the IPL2017. They have the best batting run-rate (9.01) and the worst bowling economy (9.37)
3 - Number of IPL matches at Kanpur – all three have been won by the chasing sides!
5 - The number of century stands against Gujarat Lions – most against any side in the IPL2017.
6 - The number of centuries against Gujarat Lions in the IPL. Only Kolkata Knight Riders (7) have conceded more. Gujarat Lions have played only 28 matches as against 144 by Kolkata Knight Riders.
8 - The number of times Suresh Raina has aggregated 400 runs in an IPL edition – most for any batsman. No one else has done so more than six times.
12 - The number of run-outs effected by Gujarat Lions in the IPL2017 – most by any side. Ravindra Jadeja alone has been involved in five of them – all direct hits!
75.00 - Gujarat Lions’ win-percentage while chasing a target (12 wins in 16 matches). Their win percentage batting first is just 8.33 (1 win in 12 matches).
92 - The number of IPL matches in which Suresh Raina has been on the winning side – most for any player. MS Dhoni (91) is behind him.
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