IPL 2016 Qualifier 2, GL vs SRH Playing 11: Probable XI for Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Confirmed XI)
Confirmed XI
GUJARAT LIONS XI: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(C), Dinesh Karthik(WK), Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD XI: Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner(C), Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(WK), Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Trent Boult
After being manhandled by AB de Villiers in Qualifier 1 against RCB, Gujarat Lions would like to make full use of the luxury of playing another Qualifier match that they earned by topping the Points Table. They have gone from strength to strength throughout the tournament and no one shall be surprised if the wounded lions roar back to demolish the Sunrisers.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a settled team line up with their David Warner Captain leading from the front with 686 runs at a staggering average of 52.76. Their bowling has performed very well with plenty of medium pace bowlers, the lack of a quality spinner, though, can hurt their chances when they meet Gujarat in the Qualifier 2. It’s a do-or-die match for both the teams on Friday and it would be crucial to field a settled playing XI.
Here’s the line-up that Gujarat Lions may have for the match:
Batting
Although Raina has not been as impressive as the previous editions of the IPL, he chipped in with a few crucial innings to lead GL into the Playoffs and has been Gujarat’s leading run-scorer with 398 runs in 14 innings including 3 well-timed half centuries.
While his batting has been under the scanner at moments, his captaincy has been pretty impressive throughout the tournament and he has been witty with his bowling changes and fielding placements.
Scoring 73 from 41 balls at a strike rate of 178.05 in the Qualifier 1 while everyone struggled on a slightly slower pitch of Chinnaswamy, Dwayne Smith looks like another sure inclusion. He has also been overall impressive with 323 runs in 11 innings that he has played.
Australian fearless opening batsman Aaron Finch has also been hot and cold in the 11 innings that he has played so far, scoring 343 runs while Brendon McCullum has been himself, awe-inspiring at moments and disappointing at times has a tally of 322 runs in the tournament.
Wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has held middle order well with Raina and has scored 309 including three 50 and above scores. Eklavya Dwivedi’s late onslaught during the previous match by scoring 19 off just 9 balls drew praises from the captain.
All-rounders
The all-rounder slot may be a concern for the Gujarat Lions, as most of their supposed all-rounders have excelled in one field but have been lacking in other. Smith has been consistent with his batting and also impressed many with his bowling performances of late. The West Indian has bagged 7 wickets with a match-winning performance of 4 from 8 against KKR.
Though Dwayne Bravo has impressed with bowling is currently the second highest wicket taker for GL with 15 wickets, he has been disappointing with the willow. Jadeja, too, has disrupted batsmen with his change of pace but has just 172 runs against his name.
Bowling
Fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni has also been stunning for his team and is currently the leading wicket-taker for GL, overall 3rd, with 18 wickets against his name. His 4 for 14 spell against the Challengers almost won the game for the Sunrisers them before ABD stunned everyone.
Suresh Raina has shown immense confidence in Praveen Kumar, who has bagged 9 wickets so far and plays an important role for Gujarat by containing the opposition batsmen. Bravo has been the been impressive with his well disguised slower ones and has bagged 15 wickets which include a 4-wicket haul.
Jadeja has lead the spin department with 8 wickets so far while Dwayne Smith has claimed 7. Tambe has bagged five wickets whereas Shivil Kaushik, the chinaman has also been impressive with his eye-catching bowling action and can come handy, but it would be risky to include him in the playing 11 at Feroz Shah Kotla which has one the shortest boundary across all stadiums in India, leaving bowlers with no margin of error.
Probable Playing XI
Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Eklavya Dwivedi, Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe