Match Preview: Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

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  • Winner will face RCB on Sunday

    Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | Date & Time: 27 May at 18:30 (GST)

    BIG PICTURE

    Although Mustafizur Rahman wasn’t among the wickets against Kolkata, the duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Moises Henriques more than made up for it. They took five wickets between them, as the Knight Riders folded for 140 to secure victory for the Sunrisers by 22 runs.

    They now play the Gujarat Lions in Delhi’s second qualifier with a place in the final at stake. The Lions, despite a heroic 73 by Dwayne Smith and a defiant 4/14 by Dhawal Kulkarni, once again finished second best to the Royal Challengers Bangalore last time out. A clutch performance by AB de Villiers took his side through to their third IPL final since the tournament’s inception.

    Now, the Sunrisers and the Lions compete to be their opponents. It is a straight fight to reach the final – or perhaps a street fight. For Sunrisers, Yuvraj Singh has found some form with the bat at just the right time, while Henriques’ crucial all-round display against the Knight Riders is one he would do well to repeat.

    The Lions will be heavily dependent on Smith to contribute – possibly with both bat and ball. Besides Smith, they also boast an array of top-notch batting talent. They have only excelled in fits and starts this season, but the Lions could really only require one or two of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch to have a good day.

    Their biggest hurdle may be psychological. After two miserable defeats against RCB, the Lions must rid themselves of the hopeless funk hanging over them at present. They enter this second qualifier on the back of one of those defeats, and must recover some momentum if they are to play the Royal Challengers on their own turf in the final.

    KEY BATTLES

    Dhawal Kulkarni vs Sunrisers top order: His 4/14 against the Royal Challengers may have been in vain, but Kulkarni had the Bangalore side on the ropes. He now faces a Sunrisers top order that, though perhaps not as singularly intimidating, still packs a punch. It will be a stern test of his credentials to deliver in a pressure situation. This is the stage where heroes are made.  

    Dwayne Smith vs Sunrisers bowling: The only one of the Lions’ big-name batting quartet to excel on a legitimately consistent basis (although, at times, it has been with the ball rather than the bat), much rests on Smith to deliver against a Sunrisers attack that is finding contributions from hitherto pedestrian bowlers. Surely Smith must open the batting now after his impressive display against the Royal Challengers, and the likes of Henriques and Ben Cutting will have a task on their hands.

    WATCH OUT FOR

    Moises Henriques: Perhaps buoyed by a recall to the Australian Test team, Henriques put in a useful performance with both bat and ball in Hyderabad’s last match. On a marshland of a Kotla pitch, it may be Henriques seamers that do the trick, rather than his more prodigious bowling colleagues Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur. He could also bat at number three, where hopes of a good total might rest on his massive frame with Warner and Shikhar Dhawan not being able able to make it stick beyond decent starts in the past few innings.

    EXPECTED XIs

    The Gujarat Lions may have suffered defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers again, but to earn the right to play the same franchise again, they would also do well to stick with the same team. Eklavya Dwivedi could hold on to his place after an impressive late cameo, but there may be slight readjustments in the bowling, while the batting may also be reordered.

    Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shadab Jakati/Pravin Tambe, Praveen Kumar

    The Sunrisers have momentum on their side, and appear unlikely to change things around too much. Their choice of spinner, however, will be an interesting one.

    David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Ben Cutting, Naman Ojha (wk), Deepak Hooda, Karn Sharma/Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Mustafizur Rahman

    STRAIGHT FROM TWITTER

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