IPL 2016: Gujarat Lions beat Rising Pune Supergiants by 3 wickets

Updated: 30 April 2016 00:08 IST - Published: 28 April 2016 23:39 IST

That's all that we have for tonight folks. Do join us tomorrow for the double header. Till then, it's goodbye and goodnight!

Dwayne Smith, Man of the Match: "I enjoy opening, especially with Baz. I hope we can continue doing that. It was great to see Baz take the mantle. I just had to sit back. The boys are really up for it".

Suresh Raina: "Close win. Baz and Smith did the damage in first six overs. Jimmy had a good birthday tonight. When you have a target in mind, you can attack the first six overs. It is working for us. Captaincy has been good. Learnt a lot from MS. I am not going to see MS tonight. He will be very, very upset. I'll see him later".

MS DHONI: "First six overs, sixty runs, and puts a lot of pressure. I feel we need to improve our new-ball bowling. We should crack the code. Otherwise, we will be at the receiving end. Injuries are beyond control. Still, more than the batting, the bowling has struggled. We have tried five-bowler combinations, six-bowler combinations. It is not happening for us. I like it when there is not a lot of break between matches. We have to sort out a few things. Otherwise, we will keep losing."

That was so close to the man at short mid-off, and had he latched on to it, we would have had a tie. In the end, the finisher, Faulkner, finishes things for Gujarat as they complete their 5th successive run-chase. GUJARAT LIONS WIN by 3 wickets!

19.6 Thisara Perera to James Faulkner, 1 run, GAME SET MATCH, backs away and smashes a length ball to wide of mid-on who was in very thought. Gujarat win, Pune cannot win those vital moments yet!

Everyone is coming up now. Everyone inside the ring. Dhoni is there behind the stumps. India vs Bangladesh, anyone?

19.5 Thisara Perera to James Faulkner, 2 runs, backs away and plays it to Rahane at long-off, who fires in wide throw. A god throw was expected off Rahane, but it was wide, so wide that Dhoni had to walk across the crease to collect the ball. Is this the game here? 1 run needed.

The biggest positive for GL is that Faulkner is on strike. Praveen Kumar walks in!

19.4 Thisara Perera to Ishan Kishan, OUT, RUN OUT, Ishan cannot get in with his dive, Oh Pune, Oh Gujarat, what is up to to you people! Well, Kishan goes for a first ball duck! What a turnaround for Pune! Saurabh Tiwary finally gets to be in the game. What a run-out.

Ishan Kishan in! Talk about nerves and talk about a youngster. This is his litmus test!

19.3 Thisara Perera to Suresh Raina, BOWLED. OUT, a yorker on off stump, Raina wanted to sweep, gets the inside edge and goes back on to the stumps. Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Pune? We're not done here yet! BIG wicket here as Raina tires to play across the line and chops the ball onto his stumps. Are Pune still in with a sniff of a chance?

19.2 Thisara Perera to James Faulkner, 1 run, full ball on off stump, drilled to short cover.

19.2 Thisara Perera to James Faulkner, 1 WIDE, way outside off! Pressure getting to Perera big time.

19.1 Thisara Perera to James Faulkner, FOUR, all he bowls is full toss on the pads, Faulkner loves it there, he plays it to deep square leg. Is this the game here? Nice juicy full toss on the pads, and Faulkner creams it towards deep square leg. Very poor ball!

Dhoni likes his gambles, I'm surprised that he's not decided to go with Murugan Ashwin again. A tough ask, but Raina really struggled vs him
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) April 29, 2016

Final over now. 9 runs needed. Thisara Perera to bowl it. It's all about nerves here!

18.6 Ashoke Dinda to Suresh Raina, 2 runs, backs away and smashed that ball to extra cover, Rahane safe as houses, a brace taken. 9 runs left now!

18.5 Ashoke Dinda to Suresh Raina, FOUR, backs away and Dinda follows him, bowls too much down the leg side, gets some glove to it and goes to fine leg boundary. Dhoni is down on the ground and is shaking his head, as he couldn't stop the ball, as it was very wide of him. The ball was very wide of leg stump, and understandably so, as Raina was backing away. All the left-hander had to do was to get something to it, which he did!

18.4 Ashoke Dinda to James Faulkner, 1 run, full ball, Faulkner plays it to long off. Some sanity returns.

James Faulkner walks out to bat on his birthday!

18.3 Ashoke Dinda to Ravindra Jadeja, OUT, RUN OUT, full ball between the legs which Jadeja misses, and runs across for some reason. Massive misunderstanding there. Jadeja sprinted off, while Raina remained rooted in his crease. Dhoni collected the ball, sprinted through towards the stumps, waited for Jadeja to turn around and look at the stumps, and then gently whipped the bails off.

Ravindra Jadeja walks in to bat!

18.2 Ashoke Dinda to Dwayne Bravo, OUT, full and wide again, Bravo this time cannot get it thorough, an outside edge and Dhoni pouches it behind. Well, well, well, what has Bravo done? He went after another wide ball, and edged it behind to the keeper. The crowd is ecstatic. Are Pune still in this?

18.1 Ashoke Dinda to Dwayne Bravo, FOUR, full and wide and Bravo somehow reaches it and places it in the gap behind point. Had Bravo left it alone, it would have been a wide. But Bravo saw an opportunity there as the men were inside the ring on the off side and just poked his bat to it.

Dinda to continue!

Good tight over from the leggie. Just 4 runs off it. Can Pune make a game out of it?

17.6 M Ashwin to Dwayne Bravo, 1 run, short and spinning in, Bravo wants to pull, gets the bottom of the bat and the ball then goes to deep fine leg.

17.5 M Ashwin to Dwayne Bravo, no run. Googly again, Bravo fails to read it, gets hit on the pads, but was probably sliding down leg.

17.4 M Ashwin to Suresh Raina, 1 run, short again, Raina plays it in the gap between mid-wicket and square leg.

17.3 M Ashwin to Suresh Raina, 2 runs, on a length, Raina gets a top edge, Rahane can't get to it. Didn't quite middle it as he tries to pull it, but he was lucky again as the ball dropped short of Rahane at deep midwicket.

17.2 M Ashwin to Suresh Raina, no run, and again, Raina misses with his sweep.

17.1 M Ashwin to Suresh Raina, no run, slides across a googly and Raina misses with his sweep.

10 runs and a wicket off that over from Dinda. Murugan Ashwin to bowl! Dhoni wears a helmet.

Not much edge to the Pune bowling I'm afraid...
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 29, 2016

16.6 Ashoke Dinda to Dwayne Bravo, no run, a bumper to finish off the over, Bravo was late in the pull.

16.5 Ashoke Dinda to Dwayne Bravo, 2 runs, full ball angling on and Bravo flicks it with power to wide of Smith who does not regain his balance while throwing, Raina steals second.

16.5 Ashoke Dinda to Dwayne Bravo, 1 WIDE, bangs it in but that slides down the leg side, Bravo evades it.

16.4 Ashoke Dinda to Suresh Raina, 1 run, on the pads, and flicked to square leg. Raina has so far played a calm innings. He should bat through the innings.

16.3 Ashoke Dinda to Suresh Raina, 2 runs, full ball on the pads, clipped to deep square leg and they rush across for a brace. Dhoni wanted to flick it off his gloves on to the stumps, but missed it.

Dwayne Bravo walks in to bat!

16.2 Ashoke Dinda to Dinesh Karthik, OUT, angled in, Karthik wants a piece of it and he smashes that in the air, no timing this time and Rahane takes the catch safely at mid-wicket! Dinda gets the breakthrough, but is it too late? We'll have to wait and watch! Rahane swallows the catch, his hands being a safe as a bucket. Is this the last window of opportunity for Pune?

16.1 Ashoke Dinda to Dinesh Karthik, FOUR, low full toss, Karthik sits and plays that sweep to perfection to deep square leg. 50 partnership comes up between Karthik and Raina off just 33 balls.

16.1 Ashoke Dinda to Dinesh Karthik, 1 WIDE, way outside off, Karthik was walking across.

14 runs from that over, as Karthik and Raina are executing the chase perfectly. Dinda has been brought back. Has Dhoni held him back for too many overs?

15.6 Thisara Perera to Suresh Raina, 2 runs, walks across to a lower full toss outside off, and then plays it to long on, they rush across for a brace.

15.5 Thisara Perera to Suresh Raina, FOUR, slower low full toss outside off, Raina sits down and then smashes it wide of long on, in the gap. Very slow, at 92 kmph, but bad line and length.

15.4 Thisara Perera to Dinesh Karthik, 1 run, angled in this time, and Karthik plays it to mid-wicket.

15.3 Thisara Perera to Dinesh Karthik, FOUR, slower ball on a length, Karthik waits for it and hits it late to wide of deep cover. What timing and placement by Karthik! Slower ball alright, but he placed it perfectly wide of the man at deep cover.

15.2 Thisara Perera to Suresh Raina, 1 run, slower ball and very full, Raina walks out and then dabs it for just a single. Nicely disguised on that occasion as Raina had already waked down the track and was looking to hit it through the off side.