Indian Premier League — 2016


Gujarat Lions will miss the services of skipper Suresh Raina

A consistent Gujarat Lions faces a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here on Saturday. While Gujarat is sitting pretty in the second place, RCB lies sixth.
The home side is on the brink of elimination, and needs to put together a stirring run from here on to stand a chance of making the cut.
Gujarat, having won seven of eleven fixtures, is in a comfortable position. The top-order of Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik and skipper Suresh Raina have all come good, while the bowling is led by the dependable pace duo of Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo.
Gujarat Lions — which recorded a convincing five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, in its previous fixture — takes the field after a well-deserved five-day rest.
The team, however, is likely to miss the services of captain Raina, who has left the squad to join his wife.
The couple are expecting their first child. Coach Brad Hodge stated that Brendon McCullum will call the shots in Raina’s absence.
“Not having Raina in the eleven is a big blow. We were hopeful that he could fly in and join us in time for this match, but we just received news that it is unlikely.
“Having said that, we have match-winners like Karthik, Finch, Bravo and Dwayne Smith who can step up.
“There are plenty of batsmen who would like to come in at number three here, as this is one of the best batting wickets in the country,” Hodge said on Friday.
For RCB, the six-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians on Wednesday — this snapped a two-game mini winning streak — came as a setback. Just as the players began to slide down the escape chute, the doors were shut by Mumbai at the other end.
Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal said that the bowling unit needs to do a better job in the death overs.
“We’ve been giving away too many runs in the last four overs. Only Shane Watson has been bowling well at the death. If we bowl well in the final stages, we will win.”