IPL 10, Match 13, Gujarat Lions v Rising Pune Supergiant: 5 Tracking Points

There was good news for both the sides as Ravindra Jadeja returned to the team after he was sidelined for the first week of the tournament. On the other hand, the Supergiant was boosted by the return of their captain Steve Smith and the key Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary. The Supergiant was sent in to bat by Suresh Raina after Gujarat Lions won the toss in a do or die encounter.

Gujarat Lions got off to the best of starts when their captain Suresh Raina plucked off a blinder to dismiss the dependable Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane. Captain Steve Smith partnered with the young Tripathi to help the team recover from their poor start. The partnership was cut short after the Australian Andrew Tye picked up the wicket of the Indian batsman after they had put up a partnership of 64 runs.

The Australian then made impactful inroads with the wickets of the explosive batsman Ben Stokes to dent Pune’s progress. The Supergiant collapsed to a total of 171 runs after a heroic 20th over from the debutant bowler, who picked up a hat trick in his last over to finish with a match figure of 5-17 runs which was also the best figure for a debutant.

The Gujarat Lions got off to an explosive start with the openers knocking the Pune bowlers to all parts of the park at Rajkot. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith scored 94 runs in just the 9th over leaving the rest of the team only 78 runs to score off the remaining 11 overs. The openers targeted Supergiant’s leading bowler Imran Tahir and sent him all over the ground in their opening stand.

Suresh Raina overtook the Indian captain Virat Kohli as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. Despite the fall of wickets on the other end, the Gujarat captain ensured there were no further hiccups as he and former World No 1 T20 batsman Aaron Finch got the side off to a victory with two overs remaining in the innings.

1) Andrew Tye’s performance

The Australian pace bowler had to wait long before making his Indian Premier League debut after making it to the Chennai Super Kings and the Gujarat Lions squad. The West Australian quickie ensured that his debut performance would not be a one that people would forget with an excellent display of T20 bowling.

The perfect mix of slower deliveries from the back of the hand alongside the inch-perfect yorkers helped his side Gujarat Lions to make a comeback into the match after a costly power play. The right-arm quick picked up the second hat trick of the day with figures of 5-17 in his quota of four overs.

2) MS Dhoni’s poor form

The Indian selectors were hopeful of Virat Kohli returning to form after an injury to his shoulder. The selectors also hoped that opener Rohit Sharma and wicket-keeper MS Dhoni would return to form during the tournament.

However, the dynamic Indian duo failed to utilise the opportunity to gain some form with both the batsman getting out in single figures. Dhoni’s poor form with the bat continued after his dominant display in the last series win against the visiting English side. Dhoni would want to get back to his best before he joins the squad for the Champions Trophy.

Also read | Twitter Reactions: MS Dhoni’s poor run with the bat continues

3) Opening duo- Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum

The former Chennai Super Kings openers got the Gujarat Lions to a blistering start scoring 94 runs in the 9th over of the innings. The West Indian opener Dwayne Smith got the Lions off to the best of starts with 16 runs coming from the first over bowled by the left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma.

Brendon McCullum followed his opening partner with some breathtaking strokes on the other end. The openers reduced the threat possessed by the World No 1 T20 and ODI bowler Imran Tahir, smoking the bowler to all parts of the park, before Smith got out to a slower delivery from the Mumbaikar Shardul Thakur.

4) Shardul Thakur’s return to the Tournament

In his three-year stint with the Kings XI Punjab, the Mumbai pacer has just featured in one match for the side, when he played against the Delhi Daredevils in May 2015 picking up the wicket of his Mumbai team-mate Shreyas Iyer after leaking 38 runs in three overs.

The Mumbaikar found his way into the Pune team during the second trading window. The right-arm quick replaced Ashok Dinda as the leader of the pace attack for the Supergiant and did not fail to disappoint with the ball in his hand.

It is only time before the pacer gets his opportunity to represent the nation in the limited-overs format.

5) Lions ticking all the boxes

Gujarat Lions were probably the only team in the Tournament who have failed to find the right balance in the playing XI. They had earlier in the tournament tried and tested out four foreign batsmen who did not go in their favour after Jason Roy failed to make an impact.

The match against the Supergiant saw the Lions picking up a balanced side thanks to the return of the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and the debut to the Australia quick Andrew Tye. The Australian made a strong statement on his selection in the team.

It is still the early stage of the Tournament, and the return of the West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo would only help the team go from strength to strength.