IPL 10, Match 42, DD v GL: Gujarat Lions Predicted XI

The Gujarat Lions were one of the strongest units in the previous edition of the tournament. This year, they have had a very contrasting fortune coming their way. They lost their key player Dwayne Bravo due to an injury. Soon, they found themselves in a position from where the team combinations did not look ideal at all. A batting heavy unit of the Lions has been suffering from bowling woes.

Amidst such selection conundrums, they now find themselves in the bottom half of the points table. With just 3 wins in 10 matches thus far, they have only 6 points to their name. Even if they go on to win their remaining four fixtures, they will still find themselves depending on the results of the other teams. Amidst this situation, they can actually prove out to be a threat for the other teams.

They have nothing to lose and can test their bench strength as well. Also, they can be the party spoilers for the other teams gunning for the all important place in the playoffs. Their next assignment is against the Delhi Daredevils at Delhi. Team Delhi had recently humbled the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at the very same venue. Hence, their confidence levels would be soaring high. The Lions would want to field their best possible combinations in the match.

Here is the Gujarat Lions Predicted XI for the DD v GL encounter:

Openers (Ishan Kishan, Brendon McCullum)

The opening does not seem to be a concern for the Gujarat Lions at the moment. Young batsman Ishan Kishan seems to have settled really well in the opening role for the team. He has had a couple of very good starts in the last two matches batting at the top order with Brendon McCullum.

Brendon McCullum, on the other hand, has been the perennial opener for the franchise this season. He has two fifties to his name in the early part of the season. In the last game, he had top-scored for the team with 45 runs to his name. However, prior to that game, he had a string of single digit scores in 3 fixtures. He is due for a big score now.

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

The middle-order for the Lions has largely been an inconsistent one. Barring Suresh Raina, no other batsman has showed resilience on a consistent basis. In fact, even skipper Raina has been fumbling in that regard in the last few fixtures. Raina is one of the leading performers for the team in the season thus far and a lot would depend on him when the Lions take the field against the Daredevils.

Australian batsman Aaron Finch seems to have gelled up well at the new batting position assigned to him. Finch has always been a preferred opener for whichever team he has played in the past. However, in this season of the IPL, he has been a middle order pick. He did well in a recent fixture with a quickfire fifty against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik had a merry start to the tournament this year. He had hit a couple of 40s in the initial half of the season. A couple of low scores followed but the veteran batsman made his way back with a gutsy fifty soon. He has been getting those starts but has failed to convert them to big match winning scores.

All-rounders (Dwayne Smith, James Faulkner, Ravindra Jadeja)

The Lions have no dearth of all-rounders in their lineup. Sadly though, none of them are performing with either bat or the ball. This is one of the prime reasons for the lackluster show of the Gujarat franchise this season. Dwayne Smith has not been a regular face in the playing eleven. However, with Andrew Tye being ruled out of the season, Smith becomes an automatic starter in the playing eleven.

James Faulkner has not been clicking much with the bat. To be fair to the out-of-favor Australian all-rounder, he has not quite got his chances with the bat either. With the ball, Faulkner has proved to be a wicket-taker for the team but has been on the expensive side. He has leaked a lot of runs in the death overs which has troubled the Gujarat camp.

Ravindra Jadeja walked into the tournament as the leading bowler for the franchise. But the Saurashtra lad has failed to translate his merry run of the Test format to the shortest format of the game. He has not been hitting the ball well enough. Also, he has looked absolutely unimpressive with the ball. He has not been economical either in his spells in the season thus far.

Bowlers (Ankit Soni, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi)

Young uncapped leggie Ankit Soni made news when he was contracted with the Gujarat Lions despite having no First Class experience to his name. Soni has been impressive in the three matches that he has played in the season thus far. He has been very economical with his leg breaks and is a sure campaigner in the playing eleven for the match against the Delhi Daredevils.

Pradeep Sangwan made his first appearance for the Gujarat Lions this season in the previous match. He made a mark straightaway by taking a couple of wickets of the Rising Pune Supergiant top order. Considering the bowling woes the team has had in this season, expect Sangwan to get another game.

Basil Thampi has been the one consistent bowler in the Gujarat Lions lineup this season. Thampi has been bowling well in the powerplay. In the death overs, Thampi has been bowling consistent yorkers. He has impressed many with his consistent ability to bowl toe crushing yorkers towards the end overs.