Former teammates will face off against each other when Rising Pune Supergiant plays Gujarat Lions in a night game on Monday. M.S. Dhoni will be pitted against Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, and Irfan Pathan in the visiting squad, captained by Suresh Raina. These six represented Chennai Super Kings once, are familiar with each other’s abilities and nurse a healthy respect for each other.
Pathan, a late addition to the Lions squad as injury replacement for Dwayne Bravo, is adjusting to responsibility. Raina had confidence in him for the last over against Mumbai Indians and almost won the game. Jadeja, subdued so far following recovery from injury, can strike form any moment. The sight of his ex-IPL captain in RPS colours may be the impetus to trigger a match-winning show. Smith would be keen to address the issue of inconsistent batting when they face the Lions.
- Rising Pune Supergiant: Steve Smith (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashok Dinda, Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Ankit Sharma, Baba Aparajith, Ankush Bains, Rajat Bhatia, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Dan Christian, Lockie Ferguson, Imran Tahir, Jaskaran Singh, Usman Khawaja, Saurabh Kumar, Ben Stokes, Washington Sundar, Milind Tandon, Manoj Tiwary, Adam Zampa, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishwar Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Shardul Thakur.
- Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (capt), Akshadeep Nath, Basil Thampi, Shubham Agarwal, Dwayne Smith, Chirag Suri, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Manpreet Gonly, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, Dinesh Karthik, Dhaval Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, Brandon McCullum, Pradeep Sangwan, Jason Roy, Jaydev Shah, Shelly Shaurya, Nathusingh, Tejas Baroka and Andrew Tye.
- Match starts 8pm.
Out-manoeuvred by Mumbai Indians in the Super Over, Raina looked deflated in GL’s home game. The left-hander is in flowing form with the bat and is one of the proactive leaders this IPL. He was one of the pillars Dhoni banked on at CSK and is so competitive that restraining the RPS big-hitter using bowling resources will be satisfying. Hat-trick man Andrew Tye’s fitness status, however, is not known.
GL banked on McCullum for flying starts and the New Zealander has not disappointed. He is the second highest run-maker for the visitors after nine matches (274 against Raina’s 310). Dwayne Smith’s power in clearing the field in PowerPlays as opener is known to Dhoni, whose assertive displays behind the wickets and at the crease has benefited the home team.
RPS has forged into a combative unit under Steve Smith. With the exception of opener Ajinkya Rahane, the batting order is no cause for alarm. The bowlers respond smartly to match situations.
Ben Stokes’ return to the squad will give the home team skipper more options. The England all-rounder is being nursed back to fitness. Both sides need a victory to stay in running for the knockouts, GL is fifth, one place behind the home team.
