As Gujarat Lions are placed at the seventh position of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 points table with four points in six outings they couldn’t continue their merry-run after last year’s performance when the side was going all guns blazing during the ninth edition of the lucrative league.
Having said that, they finally had something to cherish in their sixth match of the season in which batsmen had shown some sort of promise.
The side managed a much-required win on Friday night (April 21) against formidable Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens following the resurgence from Gujarat Lions’ skipper Suresh Raina, who scored 46-ball 84 before Ravindra Jadeja gave a finishing touch to the game alongside James Faulkner, who was inducted in the Playing XI in place of pacer Andrew Tye.
Lions were struggling to find the rhythm back as their players looked off-colour, both with the bat and a ball, in the first five games expect few individual performances.
Interestingly, the top three batsmen were among runs against Knight Riders, who eventually set the tone for rest of the batsmen – to chase down the total by four wickets in 18.2 overs.
Moreover, Gujarat batters didn’t succumb under pressure as they knitted crucial partnership in between while chasing down the target of 188 against Knight Riders.
However, sending Dwayne Smith down the order didn’t work for Raina.
It would be ideal to use Smith at number four while replacing him with wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik in the middle.
Aaron Finch, who gave a perfect start to the visitors alongside Brendon McCullum, would be eyeing to settle as an opener to give his side an edge in a bid to make a decent comeback after initial failures.
An odd individual performance hasn’t helped the cause of Gujarat Lions in the past few games. Having two wins in their six games they have played so far, Gujarat Lions have to step up as a unit to fire in shorter-version of the Twenty20 league.
However, Brendon McCullum and Andrew Tye has been their go-to men and on the bowling side with the comeback of Ravindra Jadeja who hasn’t made that big impact he is known for, both with the bat and a ball.
Earlier, Lions were thrashed by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the past before claiming a victory over Gautam Gambhir-led Knight Riders.
Suresh Raina would be aiming to continue his best to find the momentum for winning matches as everyone has to contribute in a bid to improve their ranking on the points table.
Lions’ think tank would be focusing on the spin bowling arsenal which hasn’t done well for the team in the ongoing competition.
On the other side, the youngsters did well so far in this edition of IPL whereas, Ishan Kishan has to give his best to strengthen the middle-order which is important for any team particularly while chasing the tricky totals.
The heavy batting line-up has to play in unison in order to march on the points table. While having the batsmen like McCullum, Aaron Finch Dwyane Smith, Suresh Raina and Jason Roy adds much balance to the batting department whereas, the priority would be to have balanced combination of bowling and batting.
It wasn’t a bad idea to induct James Faulkner while replacing with an Australian, who could score quick runs to change the complexion of the game.
Moreover, the side would be eagerly waiting to have prolific all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who is a nursing hamstring injury.
In 2016, Bravo bagged 17 wickets from 15 games while giving his best in the field too with his acrobatic stuff.
In the day game, Gujarat Lions will battle it out against struggling Kings XI Punjab at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on April 23.
Punjab has lost four matches on the trot after winning first two games.
Gujarat Lions Predicted Playing XI:
First and foremost, Gujarat Lions is highly unlikely going to fiddle with their batting lineup and the winning combination.
However, a change could be made in the bowling, to have Andre Tye in order to strengthen the pace battery.
Australian fast bowler Tye was sensational in his opening game for Gujarat when he claimed a hat-trick and the IPL best figures of five for 17 against Rising Pune Supergiant.
Playing XI: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik(w), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Basil Thampi, Dhawal Kulkarni, James Faulkner/Andrew Tye