IPL9 GL vs RPS: Raina's Lions beat Dhoni's Supergiants

Brilliant knocks from Aaron Finch (50) and Brendon McCullum (49) ensured Gujarat Lions defeated Rising Pune Supergiants by seven wickets in Rajkot.

Chasing 164 to win, the Lions openers shared a superb 85-run partnership to put Lions on top of the chase.

Skipper Suresh Raina (24) and Dwayne Bravo (22 not out) played brief cameos as Gujarat Lions scored 164 for three in 18 overs.

Faf du Plessis hit a fine 69 from 43 balls including five boundaries and four sixes as Rising Pune Supergiants scored 163 for five in 20 overs.

Kevin Pietersen achieved a 31-ball 37 supported by two boundaries and a six as he shared a half century partnership with du Plessis after Ajinkya Rahane was out on 21.

Dhoni scored 22 not out to ensure Pune had a strong total to defend.

GUJARAT LIONS INNINGS

Murugan Ashwin picks his second wicket as Raina is stumped. But it looks all too late for Pune. GL 147-3 in 16.1 overs.

Suresh Raina st Dhoni b M Ashwin 24 (24b 1x4 0x6)

McCullum unlucky to miss out on a well deserved half century. Attempts a big one but a top edge goes high up in the air for a simple catch to du Plessis. GL 120-2 in 13.1 overs.

Brendon McCullum c du Plessis b Sharma 49 (31b 3x4 3x6)

McCullum hammers Ashwin to a boundary and a six as he reaches 46 from 27 balls. Gujarat sailing comfortably at the moment. GL 114-1 in 12 overs.

The junior Ashwin bounces back well as he removes the well-settled Finch. His sweep finds Ishant in the deep. GL 85-1 in 8.3 overs.

Aaron Finch c Sharma b M Ashwin 50 (36b 7x4 2x6)

Finch rushes for a single as he reaches a fine half century coming off just 33 deliveries. There were seven boundaries and two sixes in his innings. Gujarat Lions 85-0 in 8 overs.

Terrible over for youngster Murugan Ashwin as he gives away 19 runs in his first over. GL 62-0 in 6 overs.

Brilliant start for Ashwin as he concedes just four runs from his first over. It will be a great contest to watch the openers play India's top spinner. GL 42-0 in 5 overs.

Lions are off to a relatively decent start with openers McCullum and Finch showing good form. GL 13-0 in 2 overs.

Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch open for Gujarat Lions as RP Singh bowls

Faf du Plessis hit a fine 69 from 43 balls including five boundaries and four sixes as Rising Pune Supergiants scored 163 for five in 20 overs.

Kevin Pietersen achieved a 31-ball 37 supported by two boundaries and a six as he shared a half century partnership with du Plessis after Ajinkya Rahane was out on 21.

Dhoni scored 22 not out to ensure Pune had a strong total to defend.

RPS INNINGS

Dhoni gives the finishing touches as Rising Pune Supergiants score 163 for five in 20 overs.

Second wicket for Jadeja as Marsh is bowled. Marsh was looking out of sorts as he could score only seven from the 11 balls he faced. RPS 143-4 in 18.4 overs.

Mitchell Marsh b Jadeja 7 (11b 0x4 0x6)

Pune losing the plot here as another wicket falls quickly. Smith holes an easy catch to Faulkner in the deep off Jadeja bowling. RPS 134-4 in 16.2 overs.

Steven Smith c Faulkner b Jadeja 5 (6b 0x4 0x6)

A great knock comes to an end as du Plessis is stumped attempting a big one. But he has done the job for Pune setting them up nicely. RPS 132-3 in 15.4 overs.

Faf du Plessis st Karthik b Tambe 69 (43b 5x4 4x6)

Super stuff from Bravo as he haunts KP with the slower deliveries. He was completey deceived as it took the bottom edge of the bat to the wickets. 113-2 in 14 overs.

KP Pietersen b Bravo 37 (31b 2x4 1x6)

Half century for du Plessis. A great knock from 33 balls that included four boundaries and as many sixes. RPS 111-1 in 13 overs.

Pune reach 100 for 1 in 11.5 overs. Faf du Plessis batting on 44 while KP is on 34.

Faf du Plessis batting on 39 and KP on 26. Things look great for Pune with a run rate of 8.70. With still a lot of batting to come Pune can easily eye 200. RPS 87-1 in 10 overs.

Partnership between KP and du Plessis reaches half century. It comes of just 27 balls. RPS: 78-1 in 8.2 overs.

du Plessis on 20 while KP is on 15 as Pune reach 57-1 in 6 overs.

Big wicket for Gujarat Lions as Pravin Tambe removes Rahane lbw. He plays across the line and misses it. RPS 27-1 in 3.5 overs.

Ajinkya Rahane lbw b Tambe 21 (17b 4x4 0x6)

Rahane begins on a good note after Rising Pune Supergiants won the toss and chose to bat. Rahane is on 15 with three boundaries. RPS: 16-0 in 2 overs.

TEAMS:

Rising Pune Supergiants: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rajat Bhatia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Murugan Ashwin

Gujarat Lions: Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Bravo, Akshdeep Nath, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Shadab Jakati, PravinTambe    

PREVIEW

Match 6 of IPL9 will feature a clash between the two new franchises to join the most exciting cricket league in the world.

The two new franchises in IPL9 Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants will clash in Match 6 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on Thursday.

Raina-led Lions started their IPL campaign with a win over Kings XI Punjab on Monday while MS Dhoni-led Supergiants were impressive in their maiden IPL outing when they outclassed defending champions Mumbai Indians.

Both have several explosive batsmen in their ranks.

Lions have Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina in their top three, while RPS have the classy Ajinkya Rahane, and the powerful Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen and MS Dhoni.

The SCA Stadium in Rajkot will become the 32nd venue overall and the 21st to host an IPL match.

Dhoni needs 14 more runs to become the seventh batsmen to reach the 3000-run milestone in IPL. Raina tops the IPL list with 3,719 runs.

 

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