Lions roar to victory

Gujarat Lions roared to a seven-wicket victory by outplaying Rising Pune Supergiant. The struggle and self-doubt in its previous two matches in IPL-10 was replaced by confidence as it chased down the victory target of 172 with ease at the SCA stadium here on Friday. Suresh Raina (35 not out) and Aaron Finch (33 not out) helped Lions cross the line with 12 balls to spare. The spring in the steps and all-round excellence coincided with Ravindra Jadeja’s return from injury. The talismanic India left-arm spinner and a local hero played a part, deceiving M.S. Dhoni at the crease and his presence appeared to instil self-belief in the team. After fast bowler Andrew Tye picked up five wickets, openers Dwayne Smith (47 off 30 balls) and Brendon McCullum (49 off 32 balls) kept the show going before leaving the finishing part to their skipper. Stunning catch Earlier, Raina opted to field, and set an example on the field with a stunning reflex catch at slip catch to send back Ajinkaya Rahane. The third-ball dismissal of Rahane curbed the ambitions of RPS and it managed to reach 171 for eight in 20 overs. Tye (five for 17) was the ace in Raina’s bowling pack, getting a hat-trick with the first three balls off the 20th over. The lanky Aussie hustled top-order batsmen Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes and Manoj Tiwary with his bounce and pace and then nailed Shardul Thakur with a slow yorker. Ankit Sharma was his fifth victim. Gujarat Lions’ catching on the boundary was top-class, especially by McCullum and Ishan Krishan. A stroke-filled 43 by Steve Smith, supported by brisk knocks from Tripathi (33 off 17 balls) and Stokes (25 off 18 balls) set the tone for slogging at the end. But, Tye’s three-wicket burst to send back Ankit, Tiwary and Shardul triggered celebrations in the stands and put paid to RPS’s hopes. Steve Smith, returning to action after missing the previous game, and new opener Tripathi flexed their arms as they scored 50 off 24 balls. Raina shuffled his attack in a bid to check things. West Indian Dwayne Smith, the sixth bowler used before the end of 10 overs, sent back the RPS captain (43 off 28 balls). Tye then broke through the defence of Stokes as the home team pulled things back. Dhoni walked in with the team at 106 for four and seven overs remaining. He was involved in a battle of wits with Shadab Jakati and Jadeja and the dipping run-rate demanded drastic action. Jadeja got one to come in with the arm as Dhoni went for a heave and missed to be trapped leg-before. He walked back disappointed and Pune was not able to recover to make a huge score.