IPL 9, Match 6 Preview: Rajkot to host the first battle of newcomers

After making winning debuts in their respective opening matches Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants will test each other when the two new entrants clash in the 6th game of IPL 9 on Thursday at Rajkot. The Lions will be playing in their own den in front of a passionate crowd that will want them to continue their winning momentum. The Pune outfit though has a powerful team that can challenge any opposition in the competition.

Gujarat Lions:

The Lions needed a solid team effort in defeating Kings XI Punjab, who batted well but were pretty ordinary when they bowled. Aaron Finch was in superb touch and will want to continue his good form. His opening partner Brendon McCullum failed in the previous game and will be eager to impress in front of the home crowd. The team’s strength are the all-rounders James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo and the latter bowled an exceptional spell in Mohali to get his team back in the contest.

The other positive for the Lions was the intent shown by the young Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik. The Under-19 Indian captain scored only 11 however played with a lot of freedom and his confident flick off Mitchell Johnson was a proof of that. Karthik was sublime in his unbeaten 41 off 26 balls that featured 7 glorious boundaries. Suresh Raina made 20 off 9 striking 2 sixes clearly indicating the kind of approach one can expect from his team throughout the competition. If these Indians can bat well, the Lions have the overseas talent to do the maximum damage.

Rising Pune Supergiants:

The MS Dhoni led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with players such as Steven Smith, to come out with top-order delivering it for them comfortably. Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen batted solidly in the opening match and will once again be the major threat for the Lions.

The team has a well balanced bowling unit. Ishant Sharma, RP Singh with Mitchell Marsh will challenge the home side’s batsmen along with quality spinners such as R Ashwin and M Ashwin. It will be interesting to see if Dhoni continues to under bowl R Ashwin or lets him complete his full quota of overs. Rajat Bhatia’s spell of 1/10 from 4 overs must have given the skipper a lot of confidence. The military medium pacer is highly accurate and tests the batsmen’s patience. His style of bowling is perfect for the slow surfaces on offer in India.

Pitch and Conditions:

The Rajkot pitch promises to be placid and full of runs. Both teams are packed with stroke players who should relish the conditions. The temperatures are high at this time of the year in Gujarat however it being an evening game, players won’t find it difficult to acclimatize.

Probable XI-

Gujarat Lions: 

Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina (C), Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Praveen Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan/Dhawal Kulkarni, Sarabjit Ladda/Pravin Tambe.

Rising Pune Supergiants: 

Faf du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, MS Dhoni (C/wk), Mitchell Marsh, RP Singh, Rajat Bhatia, R Ashwin, M Ashwin, Ishant Sharma.

Stats:

1. Suresh Raina needs 53 more runs to complete 6000 runs in T20 cricket. He has 5497 runs at an average of 33.41 including 3 tons.

2. RP Singh is 6 shy of 150 T20 wickets. His 129 matches have produced 144 wickets at an average of 24.70.

3. MS Dhoni needs 12 runs to reach 3000 IPL runs, He will be the 7th batsman to do so in the history of the league.