Gujarat, the Jewel of Western India would be disappointed with the performance of their home team this season. The table toppers of their debut outing in IPL 2016, find themselves reeling at the seventh position. The bowling attack has failed to deliver except the injured Andrew Tye and the emerging player Basil Thampi. In the last match, they couldn’t defend a high score of 195 and lost to Delhi Daredevils. Considering that they’ll be taking the field for the last time in IPL, Lions would be roaring to end their journey on a winning note at their home in Kanpur. Can Suresh Raina and co. spoil the defending champions run for the playoffs? Here are the Preview and Match Predictions for Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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I will seize fate by the throat. It shall certainly never wholly overcome me. Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to rest all the doubts on their qualification for playoffs in this match. With resurgent KXIP putting up their hands for a spot in playoffs, Sunrisers are to blamed for leaving it a little too late. They have won seven out of their 13 games so far with six of those wins coming at their home. Their only win in an away clash came against Kings XI in Mohali.
A Sunrisers win against Lions will put them in the playoffs. Even if they lose, they could sneak in provided Rising Pune Supergiant beat Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. However, if Sunrisers lose and Kings XI defeat Pune, David Warner and his men will be pushed out of the playoffs. In their last game, they put up an all round performance to defeat the table toppers, Mumbai Indians.
PITCH
The pitch at Green Park, Kanpur is expected to be full of runs despite being slightly two paced. In all the four T20 matches played here (including international fixture), the sides batting second have won.
GUJARAT LIONS – STRENGTHS
Gujarat Lions batting have started to get their act together in the last few matches. Dwayne Smith and the young Ishan Kishan have provided them good starts. Suresh Raina is the third highest run getter this season. Dinesh Karthik has shone with the bat consistently. Aaron Finch played a superb knock in the last match. Their fielding has been top class and especially Ravindra Jadeja has been phenomenal in that point region effecting two run outs in the last game itself.
GUJARAT LIONS – WEAKNESSES
Their bowling leaves a lot to be desired. They have lost all their games defending a score this season. The Gujarat Lions are the only team with an overall economy rate in excess of nine this season; their economy rate is 9.37. The biggest disappointments have been Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner. These two experienced bowlers haven’t had a good outing so far and this has hurt the Lions badly.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD – STRENGTHS
Their top four batsmen – David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh are in scintillating form. Even Moises Henriques good showing with the bat allowed them to play Mohd. Nabi head of Kane Williamson in the last game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has led the bowling attack superbly and he is the worthy holder of purple cap.
Rashid Khan has continued to mesmerise with his disciplined bowling. Mohd. Nabi also came good with the ball. Siddarth Kaul has been Sunrisers’ most effective bowler in their last five matches, picking up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.65.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD – WEAKNESSES
Strong performances at the top mean Sunrisers’ lower order (No. 5 or lower) is largely untested. The lower-order batsmen have faced only an average of 17 balls per innings and have contributed only 14.7% of the team’s total runs – the lowest by any team this season. Warner’s men have failed to establish a momentum till now. They haven’t won more than two consecutive matches and their performance in away matches has been extremely poor.
PREDICTED XI
GL – They have played with three overseas players despite the availability of Chirag Suri. They are expected to field the same side.
Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Aaron Finch, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulner, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi, Ankit Soni.
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SRH – They played Mohd. Nabi ahead of Kane Williamson in the last match. They could bring in Williamson to bolster their batting. There are doubts over Yuvraj’s fitness as well.
David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Nabi, Vijay Shankar, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Mohammad Siraj, Rashid Khan.
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall: Played – 4, GL – 0, SRH – 4.
Earlier this season at Hyderabad, Sunrisers restricted Lions to 135 and then cruised to a nine wicket victory.
MATCH PREDICTION
With Sunrisers needing a win to confirm their playoff berth and Gujarat looking to end their IPL journey on a positive note, here’s what we predict
If SRH bats first
1st Innings Score: 160 – 170
SRH wins by 10 – 20 runs.
If GL bats first
1st Innings Score: 160 – 170
SRH wins by 5 wickets.
