IPL 10, Match 31, RCB v GL: Gujarat Lions Player Ratings

The encounter today was one between the sides that were fighting for the wooden spoon, but clearly, there is only one team that is certainly going to end up with the last spot in the tournament, that is Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gujarat Lions will take confidence from this win and hope to turn around things from now on.

Both the teams had a bad campaign so far, and only one could emerge victorious, Gujarat did. Chances for RCB to qualify from hereon are slim, and perhaps, impossible, despite 5 matches still to go. Their worries about bowling have been well known, but their best batsmen have been out of form and the other batsmen have failed to compensate for that.

The Gujarat Lions had worries with the bowling too, but they seem to have figured things out, at least for this match. They have swapped places with RCB, and are now on the 6th position in the table. 134 would have taken some defending here, even with the tacky nature of the pitch.

Samuel Badree gave some hope by getting rid of both GL openers cheaply, but it was snuffed out pretty quickly by a rampaging Aaron Finch who played at a different level and smoked a half-century in just 22 balls on a pitch where most batsmen struggled.

Here is how the players fared today:

Ishan Kishan – 3/10

There were talks about how he should bat up the order, but to see him opening with McCullum was a pretty bold move on GL’s part. He provided an explosive start and scored 4 boundaries in his 11-ball stay.

Though there still has to be thinking done if this spot is the right for him, one thing is certain, he needs to bat up the order. A short-lived stay came to an end as he was sent back to the pavilion by Badree after his 16 off 11.

Brendon McCullum – 2/10

It looked like the game was on when both the openers were sent back to the pavilion cheaply. The reason being Baz’s failure to make his 100th IPL game count with an impactful performance. He was sent back to pavilion with just 3 runs scored. He gets points for taking a good catch in the deep to dismiss Sreenath Aravind, though.

Suresh Raina- 5/10

He now becomes the batsman with the most runs in IPL history, as well the one with the most runs in the league this season, at the moment. While Finch fired on the other end, he played a steady knock simultaneously. Though a little “scratchy” in the start, he managed to find his fluency towards the end of the innings.

His captaincy was also much better today, compared to other matches as he only made things worse for RCB’s campaign. The skipper will take the confidence gained today forward, for himself and his team as they still keep their hopes alive for the rest of the tournament. He was also exceptional in the slips today to dismiss Head for a duck.

Aaron Finch – 9/10

Finch played at a different level and smoked a half century in just 22 balls on a pitch where most batsmen struggled. With the help from Raina on the other end, he comfortably timed the ball into the stands and the roof as he exploited the short boundaries of the stadium beautifully. He fumed the fastest fifty by a GL player in the history of IPL, off 22 balls.

Batting at a strike rate of 211.76, he cast a blitzkrieg and eventually brought up a 72 off 34 balls that consisted of 5 fours and six maximums. Till the time that he wasn’t batting, all the batsmen had looked in a fix, but after his arrival, he dashed the hopes of the opposition. He also took a good catch to dismiss Virat Kohli. In short, it was Finch’s day.

Ravindra Jadeja- 7/10:

When he arrived to bat, the situation did not demand much from him because victory was pretty much inevitable for them by then. The winning runs too were scored by Raina and did not need him to show his prowess.

His bowling was very vital in restricting RCB to the meagre target, he took the big wicket of Kedar Jadhav who was settling in and bringing them back into the game, but Jadeja outfoxed him and sent him back before he could play a match-winning knock.

He also forced Badree to mis-hit the ball and go back to the pavilion, making the slog overs for the opposition disastrous as well. His fielding was spot on considering that he enforced the run-out that was a nail in the coffin for RCB as AB de Villiers walked back. He also took the catch of Mandeep Singh.

Dinesh Karthik- 2/10

He wasn’t required to bat. But was decent behind the stumps.

James Faulkner- 5/10

In the three overs he bowled, Faulkner conceded only 15 runs and took the wicket of Sreenath Aravind. Apart from that, GL will prefer to go in with this overseas combination as he has been handy for them.

Andrew Tye- 9.5/10

The over in which he took both Gayle and Head on consecutive deliveries is what was the key moment for GL in the match. They not only returned to the dressing room without an impact, the team’s total was left reeling behind already. He is turning out to be GL’s best pick in the auction, in fact, he features in the leading wicket-takers column with 12 in his name.

Though the execution of the hattrick ball wasn’t as well as he expected it, it does not take away the fact he was the Man of the Match today. If the two big wickets in the powerplay were not enough, he also took the wicket of Mandeep Singh, who was probably RCB’s last hope among the batsmen.

Nathu Singh- 4/10

In the two overs bowled, Nathu conceded just 8 runs, without a wicket. Tye and Raina both applauded him and Thampi for the accuracy.

Basil Thampi- 4/10

He took the big wicket of Kohli and it was a massive strike from Basil Thampi who scalped one of the best in the business. In the four overs bowled, though he conceded 34 runs, this massive wicket compensated for that. He also took the catch of Pawan Negi just when he had started to accelerate.

Ankit Soni- 3/10

Though a lot of people will say that luck was a factor, Ankit Soni did, in fact, dismiss Pawan Negi when he was timing the ball well towards the end of the first innings. In the 3 overs he bowled, Ankit conceded 28 runs and took 1 wicket. Though his spot in the team is not certain for the matches to come, he might well be given a chance.