Momentum with Pune in pursuit of first win over Gujarat

From one step short of finishing with the wooden spoon in their maiden season of the Indian Premier League to being a couple of steps away from a place in the top four, Rising Pune Supergiant have come a long way. Whether it has been some freshness that Steve Smith has brought in after being handed the reins of the side, or the culture that lingers in the Pune camp, it seems to be working for them.

There were apprehensions at the start about the functionality between MS Dhoni and Smith after the former was unceremoniously stripped of captaincy duties. But the pair's professionalism came to the fore as they're seen to be working rather amicably with each other, be it strategising, exchanging ideas or bonding over a drone camera - which has perhaps been Pune's secret to the success they've seen so far.

In stark contrast, the Gujarat Lions, who finished at the top of the table in their opening season have had a rather insipid second one so far. Their top-order batting, which was one of their strengths last season, has failed to replicate their exploits for a successive year. They only managed one solitary win in their first five games this season, before managing two wins and as many losses, their last one coming against Mumbai Indians after having fought supremely hard to tie the game and take it to the Super Over. Mumbai were chasing 154 and were cruising at one stage with 40 required off 30 balls. James Faulkner and Basil Thampi pulled things back well to reduce the equation to 11 from the final over. Irfan Pathan, who was drafted in late into Gujarat's squad, conceded a six off the first ball. Two run-outs in the final over had the game end in a tie and take it to the Super Over.

If credit should be given where due, first part of it should deservedly go to Gujarat's bowlers who pulled things back spectacularly to make a game out of one when it seemed like Mumbai would cruise to victory. But a lot more to Jasprit Bumrah who, despite bowling two extras in the Super Over, with Gujarat needing 12, conceded only six runs, with no boundaries as Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch fell short in what would have been heart-wrenching after having come so close. Once again, highlighting Gujarat's lingering problem this season.

Pune, on the other hand, are coming off a drubbing of RCB, who they beat at home convincingly by 61 runs. Lockie Ferguson, playing only his second IPL game, had RCB on the back foot with quick wickets, a maiden and figures of 2 for 7 in four overs. Ben Stokes still seems to be having trouble with his shoulder, which will have him miss a few more games. But Pune's combinations seem to be working for them at the moment. Imran Tahir was exceptional, adding three more wickets to his name, with an economy rate of under 5, causing enough trouble and more to the RCB batsmen. Tahir now has the second-highest number of wickets this season so far, with 13, behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 18. The spinners have had the most say in their campaign so far, but Ferguson's inclusion gives them the required venom the pace department needed.

Five wins in 14 games was what RPS finished with last season, but they have five already this year in nine games, and are placed fourth on the points table, behind Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. With just two home games left, Pune would want those four points to consolidate their position in the top four. As for Gujarat, heading into the last few games of the season, if they don't get a couple of wins and back to winning ways, it might be curtains before they know it.

When: Rising Pune Supergiant vs Gujarat Lions, May 1, 2017 - 20:00 IST

Where: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

What to expect: Pune is comparatively much cooler in the evenings, with quite a bit of dew seen causing the home side a bit of trouble when fielding second against KKR. The wicket played pretty sluggish against RCB, which could mean a reduction in the number of runs scored when compared to RPS' earlier home games.

History: Last season, Pune fell short against Gujarat both times in what was the maiden season for both teams. This season, too, they were unable to register a win against them in Rajkot, where Gujarat beat them convincingly by seven wickets after Andrew Tye picked up a five-wicket haul which included a hat-trick. Gujarat lead the head-to-head 3-0.

Team News:

Rising Pune Supergiant: Hard to see RPS making a change to their playing XI after their brilliant 61-run win against RCB at home. Stokes's participation still might be under the cloud, and given Ferguson's Man-of-the-Match-winning outing, it'd be surprising to see them leave the paceman out as he provides the bite required in the bowling department with his pace and variations.

Probable XI: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Imran Tahir

Gujarat Lions: The Gujarat franchise were dealt a massive blow as their best bowler Andrew Tye was stretchered off the field after hurting his shoulder while fielding against Mumbai Indians. The injury was serious enough to have him ruled out for the rest of the season. Jason Roy could come in to beef up the batting.

Probable XI: Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Aaron Finch, James Faulkner, Jason Roy, Basil Thampi, Ishan Kishan, Ankit Soni

Did you know?

- GL and RPS have used the most players in this season of IPL so far - 23 and 21 respectively.

- Spinners have had a better say in matches in Pune this season - 23 wickets at 23.78 at an economy rate of 7.49. In comparison, pacers have taken only 15 at 43.80 and they concede at 8.96 per over.

- Rahul Tripathi has reached double figures in each of his seven innings so far. The most innings by any player before getting dismissed less than 10 is eight each for Matthew Hayden and Lendl Simmons.

What they said:

"I think in our camp we have got a lot of young exciting players. People like Tripathi and Tiwary are exciting Indian players. And it's fantastic to watch them get a lot of runs and obviously Smith's been batting really well. Getting the runs on the board is the first part, and we've done the first part well. And then the bowlers have stuck to very simple plans and worked hard to nail those and have the right fields. It's sort of come off in the games and we are proud of how the bowling attack has gone about their business. We don't really have world-beaters. I know we have Immy Tahir who is a world-beater. He's amazing. The other guys around the group are all doing their part and as you saw tonight, we came off with a fantastic win with everyone doing their job." - Lockie Ferguson, the RPS bowler, said.