IPL 10, Match 26, GL v KXIP – Gujarat Lions Predicted XI

The Gujarat Lions have had a mixed tournament thus far, either win of extreme ends or the huge losses. The team led by Suresh Raina started the tournament off with a crushing defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders, where Chris Lynn emerged as the bright spot for the Knight Riders. The weakness of the Gujarat side in the absence of Dwayne Bravo has been the bowling department, and it has been exposed every since the match.

Gujarat’s batting-friendly line-up has helped them chase the runs a couple of times in the tournament with wins against the Rising Pune Supergiant and the Knight Riders, thanks to the inning from Dwayne Smith in the first match and Suresh Raina’s knock in the second.

The Lions have finally found out the right combination that they could go with ahead of the crucial fixtures in the IPL. It would, however, be intriguing to see where Dwayne Bravo is accommodated in this line-up. James Faulkner has made his way back into the squad with a fabulous bowling display against the Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.

Raina and the management would be forced to drop out Smith from the team to let the West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo play.

Openers (Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch)

The current orange cap holder Brendon Mccullum would want to start the innings well for the Lions as he has done throughout the tournament. The Kiwi opener has helped his side bail out from the miseries many a time, especially with the knock against the Royal Challengers Bangalore where they almost pulled off a miraculous win.

The opening partnership of Aaron Finch and McCullum has provided the start that the Lions have been looking for, with Smith not in good touch. It sets up the right platform for stroke makers like Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik who follow to attack during the middle overs.

Finch, too like his opening partner has helped the side to get off the mark very quickly, with boundaries and sixes dominating the scoring.

Middle Order (Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan)

Come what may it is almost certain that IPL and Suresh Raina are made for each other, the romance is true. Raina has set the tournament ablaze with consistent performances for both the Chennai Super Kings and now with the Gujarat Lions. The 84 runs in 46 balls just helped the left-hander cement his legacy in one of the greatest platforms for limited-overs cricket.

His form and fitness were a slight concern for the franchise going into the tournament. The left-hander has taken no time to set things right and feeding the answers to the critics every time he walks out with the blade in hand. A fighter in the true sense, Raina is the key player for the franchise, even in the presence of Dwayne Bravo.

Dinesh Karthik has not had a consistent run in this IPL, after a tremendous domestic season with Tamil Nadu. The wicketkeeper-batsman with the knocks at Tamil Nadu had set his sight on the flight to England for the national team. However, things look bleak for the right-hander as he has failed to capitalize on the fantastic domestic form into the IPL.

The young left-handed batsman Ishan Kishan has had one real quality innings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, after which the critics started going gaga over the batsman. What lacks in the left-hander’s arsenal is consistency at the top level. The leftie could not follow his knock at Rajkot with something substantial at the Eden Gardens. Consistency is what lacks in the middle-order for the Gujarat Lions.

All Rounders (Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner)

The Lions’ supporters would breathe a sigh of relief when they find the marquee all-rounder Dwayne Bravo in the playing XI. It looks increasingly closer that the all-rounder would make his debut in this year’s tournament with the clash against the Kings XI Punjab, who returned winless after their performance against Mumbai Indians.

Ravindra Jadeja’s form with the ball is an insecurity to Raina and co. with the left-arm spinner leaking runs since his return. Raina would be hopeful of a heroic comeback from the left-arm spinner in their next encounter against the depleted Punjab side. Jadeja would want to live up to his expectations as the Test No.1 bowler.

James Faulkner is terribly dejected and disappointed at the prospect of not only missing the flight to England but also missing out on a contract from Cricket Australia. It would make the all-rounder go contract-less after his heroics for the national team in the 2015 World Cup at home. The all-rounder returned to action after a long time with a solid display against the spirited Knight Riders side, who looked to attack the bowler.

Bowlers (Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Basil Thampi)

Praveen Kumar, the leader of the pack and also one of India’s most experienced swing bowlers has been under attack in the tournament thus far. The right-arm swing bowler from Uttar Pradesh has been hit to all parts of the park and hasn’t looked dangerous. As recently as the previous game against Rising Pune Supergiant, the bowler went for a plethora of runs with figures of 1/51 in his four overs. Raina would hope that the display against the Knight Riders was just the beginning of the things to come.

Dhawal Kulkarni has not had a huge say on the bowling line-up of Gujarat Lions thus far, with appearances thin for the opening bowler. In the opportunities that the bowler got, he has failed to impress the team and fans returning wicket-less or with a single wicket at most.

Basil Thampi is probably the unluckiest of all bowlers around in the IPL at the moment. The pacer from Kerala has picked up only two wickets in the tournament despite his excellent yorkers and slower balls at the death overs of the innings. The statistics, however, does not do justice to the rigour and patience with which the right-arm bowler has bowled. With time he certainly has enough talent to boost the wickets tally as well.