IPL 10, Match 13, GL v RPS - Gujarat Lions Player Ratings

The Gujarat Lions were back to their roaring ways in the 2017 edition of the IPL. They hosted the Rising Pune Supergiant at Rajkot for their third match of the season. Coming into the match, they were low on morale having lost both the previous matches. On the other hand, the Rising Pune Supergiant were not very confident either. They had lost their last two matches as well after having won one.

It was the home skipper Suresh Raina who won the toss and opted to field first. RPS had a shocker of a start after a stunning catch from Raina sent Ajinkya Rahane packing on a duck. RPS skipper Steve Smith played well in the middle order for his 43. He was well supported by some cameos from Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes, Manoj Tiwary and Ankit Sharma. It was Andrew Tye who was the man of the moment.

He scalped 5/17 that included a hat-trick to see RPS finish on 171/8 in their 20 overs. The Gujarat Lions had a flying start to their run chase with Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum going great guns. After their dismissals, Suresh Raina took the baton in his hand. It was only a matter of time that the Lions chased down the total to register their first win this season. Here are the Player Ratings for Gujarat Lions from the GL v RPS encounter:

Brendon McCullum – 8/10

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was at his very best in the match against the Supergiant. He looked absolutely unstoppable as he started the onslaught right from the word go. He targeted the bowlers in the powerplay and gave good support to Dwayne Smith, who was also hitting runs at will at the other end.

McCullum departed after scoring 49 that came off just 32 balls. En route his whirlwind knock, he hit 5 fours and 3 towering sixes. He showed glimpses of vintage McCullum in the match and set up the run chase for his team. The good form of McCullum is surely a positive sign for the Gujarat Lions.

Dwayne Smith – 8/10

Dwayne Smith was an equal match for his opening partner Brendon McCullum on the day. He took special liking to the RPS spinners and did not let them settle at the crease. It was one of the reasons why the bowlers could not stamp their authority in the run chase.

He plundered a quick 47 in just 30 balls. Smith, who has been a perennial performer for his IPL teams in the IPL, showed why he is such a destructive batsman at the top order. He hit 8 fours and a six in his innings. The Gujarat Lions have possibly found their ideal opening combination for the remainder of the tournament.

Suresh Raina – 8.5/10

Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina has been under immense pressure to perform in the recent times. He had a fairly good outing on the day. Raina was under the scrutiny after having lost the first two matches of the season. Also, his weak form with the bat was doing no good to his personal reputation.

In this match, he got his captaincy spot on. He was good with his bowling changes and that worked well for the side. Also, he took a stunning catch early on in the match to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane. In the batting, he remained unbeaten on 35 that came off just 22 balls. Raina hit four boundaries and a six in his innings.

Dinesh Karthik – 2/10

Dinesh Karthik has been in such a rampaging form in the recent few months. He has been a heavy performer for his domestic side in the domestic season this season. Coming in to the IPL, he had very well in the first couple of matches too. All he needed to do was continue his good run with the bat to stamp a mark in the game. He had a very good option of being the finisher for the team. However, he failed to live up to the occasion and was dismissed on 5.

Aaron Finch – 7/10

There have been a lot of questions over the ideal position for Aaron Finch in this Gujarat Lions setup. He is a renowned opener in the world cricket and has some extraordinary numbers in the shortest format of the game at the top slot in the batting lineup. The Lions, however, have chosen to keep him in the middle order.

Finch came in to bat at number 5 after the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik. He took his time to settle at the crease for the first few deliveries. He did not show any haste early on but soon got into his groove. He finished things off in style by clobbering two consecutive sixes. He remained unbeaten on 33 off 19 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Ishan Kishan – 2/10

Ishan Kishan had very little role to play in the match. He did not get his due share to bat as his services were not needed on the day. Earlier in the game, he did take a good decent catch to set up the hat-trick for Andrew Tye. He caught Manoj Tiwary off the bowling of Tye to send Tiwary back for 31. With no fielding blemishes, he manages to get a couple of rating points in the match.

Andrew tye – 9.5/10

Andrew tye had a perfect debut in the IPL. The Aussie pacer made a very clinical imprint on the day for the Gujarat Lions. The Lions had been struggling to find a bowler in their line up and it seems their search for a bowling all-rounder has finally ended. Tye bowled his full quota of four overs to return with super impressive figures of 5/17 in 4 overs. He registered the best figures on IPL debut in the history of the tournament.

Talking about his hat-trick, he became the second bowler to take the hat-trick in the 2017 edition of the IPL. Tye first dismissed Ankit Sharma on 25 in the final over. He then got the wicket of Manoj Tiwary as he had him caught in the deep by Ishan. Lastly, he cleaned up Shardul Thakur for a golden duck to complete his hat-trick.

Ravindra Jadeja – 4/10

All eyes were on Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on the day. Jadeja recently rose to prominence with his stellar performances in the long home Test season of India. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world. Amidst this reputation, he came in to the match against RPS.

However, the ace all-rounder largely failed to convert his form of the longest format to the shortest one. In the 4 overs that he bowled on the day, he gave as many as 40 runs. He got one big wicket though, and that of former RPS skipper MS Dhoni.

Praveen Kumar – 3/10

Arguably the senior-most bowler in the Gujarat Lions, Praveen Kumar had a very dismal outing with the ball on the day. The RPS batsmen seemed to be loving his bowling and took a heavy toll on him on the day. He was taken away for 51 runs during his spell of 4 overs. He had provided the early breakthrough to the team though. He had dismissed Ajinkya Rahane for a duck in the very first over of the match. He had a good start in the match and bowled with swing and precision up front. However, it was towards the death overs where he faltered.

Basil Thampi – 4/10

Basil Thampi, the young pacer from Kerala, was very impressive with the ball. In the 3 overs that he bowled on the day, he gave away just 21 runs. He bowled economically and did not let the RPS batsmen score freely in the powerplay. He had a big moment of joy or perhaps call it a mini-victory when he outfoxed the opposition skipper with a brilliant bouncer.

Shadab Jakati – 2/10

Shadab Jakati was supposed to be the frontline spinner in the Gujarat Lions lineup. However, his services were largely not required on the day. He was given the ball for only two overs and he gave away 22 runs in those two overs. He did not pick up a wicket and hence had nothing to show in the wickets column. He had a very ordinary outing with the ball on the day. He gets 2 in the ratings for the couple of overs that he bowled.