IPL 10, Match 39, RPS v GL: Gujarat Lions Predicted XI

The Gujarat Lions were a part of one of the greatest cricket matches ever played in the history of the IPL against the Mumbai Indians last night. Along with Kings XI Punjab and their opponents Rising Pune Supergiant, the three teams are fighting for the fourth spot in the IPL playoffs.

The Lions would be disheartened after losing such a close match against Mumbai in a super over. Whereas, the Supergiant would be buoyed after gaining substantial momentum into the business end of the tournament. GL are currently sixth in the table with 6 points in the bag while RPS are sitting pretty at the fourth position with 10 points in their kitty.

Therefore, the Lions face an uphill task of winning their upcoming matches away from home to remain in the recognition for the fourth place. The Gujarat Lions no longer have any match at their home ground in Rajkot.

Openers (Brendon McCullum, Ishan Kishan)

Ishan Kishan has been the find of the tournament for the Gujarat Lions, along with Andrew Tye. Following his impressive 39 against the RCB, he anchored the Lions’ innings with a 48 last night against the Mumbai Indians. The 18-year-old has displayed a lot of maturity, potency, and potential in the brief innings he has played. 

Brendon McCullum has been in red hot form with 274 runs already in the tournament. Baz missed out in the last innings and would like to continue his purple patch. Raina would want him to go all out yet again, given the arsenal they have in their batting line up. The Gujarat Lions have batsmen up to number nine.

Middle order (Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch, Dinesh Kartik) 

Along with McCullum, the skipper of Gujarat Lions has been in prime form in this edition of the IPL. Currently, Raina is averaging 51 in the 9 matches he has played. He has also been a prime contender for the Orange Cap this season. Yet again, the southpaw would hold the key to provide a platform fo the likes of Finch, Smith, and Jadeja to explode in the backend of the innings.

Aaron Finch would be disappointed to miss out on the last match as he hasn’t been his usual self this season of the IPL. He hit the knockout punch against the Royal Challengers with his 72 at a strike-rate of 212. Dinesh Karthik has replicated his domestic form into the IPL but would look for something substantial to announce his presence in the squad.

Allrounders (Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner)

With the unfortunate injury to AJ Tye in the last match, where he dislocated his shoulders, Dwayne Smith would have yet another crack at featuring in the playing eleven. Even though it would be difficult to replace a bowler who has been in contention for the Purple Cap, the West Indian would want to compensate it with his explosive batting.

With Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Dwayne Smith and even Irfan Pathan lower down the order, Gujarat Lions arguably have the strongest batting order on paper. However, the Lions have not been able to replicate their on paper strength into the field consistently.

Jadeja and Faulkner would be expected to complete their quota of four overs. Smith has the capability to fill in for a bowler who has a bad day, if not entrusted with his full quota.

Bowlers (Irfan Pathan, Basil Thampi, Ankit Soni) 

Irfan Pathan has to bear additional pressure given the absence of Andrew Tye for the rest of the tournament. Even though Pathan was expensive in his first over of this year’s IPL, the captain entrusted him to bowl the all important ultimate over of the match against Mumbai Indians. While defending 11 runs, he came back perfectly even after being hit for a maximum on the first ball of the over and helped his team tie with the opposition.

Pathan showed no sign of rust as he effected a runout and saved some crucial runs on the field. Along with him, young Basil Thampi, and leg-spinner Ankit Soni bear the forefront for Lions’ bowling. Overall, the bowling looks well balanced with Faulkner, Thampi, Jadeja, Soni, Pathan. Raina and Smith are the other available options to rotate the bowlers.