Today's IPL Match, Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Match Preview: Pitch Report & Weather Forecast of GL vs SRH, Match 15

Riding high on three back to back victories, the Gujarat Lions have easily been the top team of this seasons IPL 2016, with an all-round performances in each of their games. The contest between the Gujarat Lions and the Sunrisers Hyderabad will be literally a heated up affair with soaring temperatures at Rajkot.

The Sunrisers, registering their first win of the tournament due to the swashbuckling innings of Captain David Warner, will be looking to get their act together and put on a good show as the enter the den of the ‘Lions’.

With only a couple of players crossing the 50 run mark, this pitch should be ideal for the Sunrisers batsmen to get a few runs under their belt. In the absence of their star player Yuvraj Singh, the younger guns have to grab this opportunity presented to them and prove their mettle.

With teams entering into that stage of the tournament where the only choice they will have is to perform, a victory now could prove to be crucial for teams to qualify for the playoffs.

Match Date and Time: 21 April 2016, 2000 hrs ISTMatch Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. Weather:

Temperature: Max 34°c, Min 27°cHumidity: Max 34%Wind: 16 km per hour

Pitch Report: Should be a flat track, very close to the genre of a batsman’s paradise.

In-Depth Analysis:

The Gujarat Lions will start off with an obvious home advantage against Hyderabad having already played on this high scoring pitch against the Rising Pune Supergiants. 175 being the par score, the crowd will witness a run feast.

The seamers will have to perform out of the ordinary to contain the batsmen who would not find it very difficult to score on this wicket. The Lions are already buzzing with their star openers Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch who haven’t shied away from showcasing their lethal potential.

Aaron Finch, in particular, has done remarkably well for the new franchise, scoring a total of 191 runs in 3 innings with a High score of 74 coming against Kings XI Punjab. Finch has shown his calibre of playing those big knocks in the International arena as well and will be the key to creating a good opening stand with McCullum.

Star No. 3 batsmen, Suresh Raina who is also in dire need of runs, will be hopeful to cash in on this supposed run fest. Getting a few starts in his past matches, the ex-CSK player hasn’t quite hit his mark in this season (yet) and fans will be looking forward to getting a glimpse of his quality stroke play.

By the time Hyderabad get through the top order, they will have to deal with the flamboyant Caribbean, Dwayne Bravo who has played an important role linking the bridge between an average team and a good team. Supplying the goods with his impressive bowling performance and energetic fielding, the Sunrisers will be happy to see the back of this man.

Into the bowling department, Praveen Kumar has kept things tight by consistently swinging the new ball and posing problems for the batsmen. Assisted well in the last match by Dhawal Kulkarni, the Lions seem to have found the right combination of opening bowlers with Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja handling the mid overs.

Similar to the Gujarat Lions, the Sunrisers Hyderabad rely heavily on their opening pair David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, though things aren’t exactly going their way. It’s been quite a while since Dhawan has scored a half century.

It is about time for the Delhi-born batsmen to step up his game, as his chances are running out, though scoring against one of the best teams in the IPL, might swing the pendulum back in his favor.

The rest of the foreign contingent is completed by England International Eoin Morgan and the Aussie Moises Henriques. Things can only get better for Hyderabad once their talented bunch of players start getting used to the conditions and unleash their natural game. The player to look out for, Deepak Hooda who has the ability to hit big shots and will be essential for the Sunrisers to reaching a big total.

Sunrisers have no shortage of world-class bowlers including Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman and the emerging player Barinder Sran who impressed with his wicket-taking abilities bagging 3 for 28 in 4 overs against the Mumbai Indians. They have picked up 10 wickets in total between them in the 3 matches played so far and their performance will set the tone of the match.

All being said, Gujarat Lions will start as favorites to win the game. With the kind of form they are in and nothing seems to be stopping them at the moment. Sunrisers could provide just the surprise required to beat the only unbeaten side of the tournament.

Trivia:

-Aaron Finch has scored a fifty in each of the innings played in this season.

-Shikhar Dhawan has failed to reach double figures in the 3 innings played.