Gujarat will need to put up solid show if they are to get past confident Sunrisers in do-or-die qualifier today
For most of the current IPL season, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions were chasing each other for the top spot in the points table. But a little turn of fortunes towards the end of the league stage has now put them in a situation where only one of them will have a shot at the title.
After knocking out two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers will be looking to extend their winning run against table-toppers Lions in a virtual semifinal at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday.
The Lions, under Suresh Raina, have looked impressive but a loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first qualifier on Tuesday made their task of making the final doubly hard. Thankfully for them, being the table-toppers has allowed them another crack at getting into Sunday’s final.
But Raina would know well that the Sunrisers have beaten his team twice in the league stage. And beating KKR in the first eliminator at the same venue must have given tremendous boost to David Warner’s side. On a typical low and slow Kotla track, Australian all-rounders Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting came to the rescue of Sunrisers by taking crucial wickets to take the game away from KKR.
The match also witnessed some old magic from Yuvraj Singh’s blade who took his team to a fighting total of 162. It came as a welcome change for a team that was relying more on the heroics of two openers – Warner and Shikhar Dhawan – throughout the tournament.
Also an aspect that cannot be overlooked has been the efforts of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, who have shared the extra burden of not having veteran pacer Ashish Nehra at this stage.
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Meanwhile, the Lions boast of one of the most explosive batting line-ups in the IPL, with Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. It's noteworthy that except Finch, all five other players are former Chennai Super Kings boys.
But their major problem has been the bowling department, which has not complimented its batters consistently. Some smart bowling by veteran swing bowler Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni has kept the team in the hunt. Lions also have Dale Steyn but they have chosen to play him in only one game in order to bolster their batting line-up.
Like Sunrisers, the man who has shone for the Lions is their skipper. Having celebrated fatherhood by scoring two match-winning half-centuries, Raina now has a chance to step out of Dhoni’s shadows if his team wins the title this season.
But his biggest challenge would once again be his ability to handle the short-pitch deliveries. Some tactful field placement by Virat Kohli embarrassed Raina once again in the last game, when Shane Watson got him out with the short stuff. Whether Warner will also adopt a similar strategy against the southpaw will be interesting to watch on Friday.
For now, Raina should take consolation from the fact that the Sunrisers have never made it to IPL final. The Lions, on the other hand, have a chance to do so in just their first season.
N ZONE
147
No. of dot balls bowled by SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the most by any bowler this IPL
8
Eight out of nine victories for Gujarat Lions this season have come while chasing
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