GUJARAT WIN BY 7 WICKETS!

Gujarat 164-3 (18 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

So a dream start for debutants Gujarat Lions as they win their first two matches to top the IPL standings.

They beat Kings XI Punjab in their first game away from home before outclassing Dhoni's Pune with another commanding performance.

Gujarat's bowlers did well to restrict Pune to 163 for five after Faf du Plessis had hammered 69 from 43 balls and KP hit 37 from 31 balls.

Spinners Pravin Tambe and Ravindra Jadeja were instrumental in the fightback as they took two for 33 and two for 18 respectively.

With the bat, Finch and McCullum provided them the perfect start as they put on 85 for the opening wicket in just over eight overs. Finch smashed 50 from 36 balls while McCullum smashed 49 from 31 balls and Bravo provided the finishing touches with a quickfire 22 not out from 10 balls.

 
GUJARAT WIN BY 7 WICKETS!

Gujarat 164-3 (18 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Medium pacer Bhatia to bowl the 18th over. Just two runs from the first four balls before Bhatia oversteps to give a no-ball and a free hit. Bravo hammers it down the ground for just two runs as Smith fumbles at long-on.

The West Indian right-hander makes room and hammers the next delivery over the off-side for a six to level scores with two more overs to come.

RP Singh bowls a wide to give Gujarat a convincing victory with seven wickets in hand and 12 deliveries to spare.

 

Gujarat 151-2 (17 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Murugan Ashwin brings Pune some relief with the wicket of Raina, who comes down the track but is beaten and this time Dhoni completes the stumping.

Raina walks back for 24 from 24 balls but Gujarat in complete control out in the middle.

A wide followed by a single to Jadeja and Bravo brings up the 150-run mark for the hosts.

Gujarat reach 151 for three in 17 overs, with 13 needed from three overs for victory.

A good comeback from the young Murugan Ashwin, who went for 20 runs in his first over, but conceded just 11 runs in his next three overs, to finish with good figures of two for 31.

 

Gujarat 147-2 (16 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Ravi Ashwin comes back and bowls a very good over, conceding just three runs, to finish with four runs for 26 runs. A rarity to see Ashwin getting his full quota of four overs under captain Dhoni!

Raina had a close shave in the over as he went for a quick single but was sent back halfway down the track.

Dwayne Bravo goes after the hapless Ishant with a hat-trick of boundaries. He goes a long way outside the leg stump and lofts the pacer over the covers for a four before repeating the shot off the next two balls to make it three successive boundaries.

A short ball is tucked on the leg side sensibly by Bravo for one and Raina pulls the last ball to deep midwicket for another run as Ishant concedes 15 in his final over to finish with one for 39 in four overs.

Gujarat are looking set for their second successive victory, with 17 needed from four overs for victory.

 

Gujarat 129-2 (14 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Murugan Ashwin gets one to grip and turn big, beating McCullum and even Dhoni to give away two byes as the 11th over goes for eight runs.

McCullum not letting the momentum shift as he gives Ravi Ashwin the charge and smashes him straight back over his head for a four. The next ball is hit higher and further for a six over long-on before he gets a lifeline from the last ball.

Dhoni misses a regulation stumping with McCullum (46 from 26 balls) beaten all ends up in the flight.

That could have been a vital breakthrough for the visitors but the captain messed up an easy chance.

Rajat Bhatia comes back as the two Gujarat batsmen take six easy singles in that over to continue their superior showing with the bat.

Ishant makes the crucial breakthrough as McCullum mishits the pull shot and is caught on the off-side after a quickfire 49 from 31 balls.

Raina steers the second ball past point for two runs before he crunches the fifth ball over the off-side ring for a four.

Nine runs from the over as the asking rate comes below six with 35 needed from six overs for victory.

 
Gujarat 93-1 (10 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

It is the young Murugan Ashwin, who makes the first breakthrough with the wicket of Finch, who is caught at deep square leg after a quickfire 50 from 36 balls, having hit seven fours and two sixes.

Finch went for the sweep but hit it straight into the hands of Ishant on the boundary as Pune managed to check Gujarat's charge with that wicket after they had put on 85 runs for the opening wicket from 51 balls.

The two Ashwins bowling in tandem yet again. Murugan Ashwin conceded just two runs in the ninth over before Ravi Ashwin gave away six in the next over.

At the halfway stage, Gujarat are 93 for one in 10 overs, with another 71 needed from 10 overs for victory.

McCullum looks keen to see his team through, he is batting on 32 from 19 balls despite not going at full throttle.

 
Gujarat 85-0 (8 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Medium pacer Rajat Bhatia comes into the attack. Finch in no mood to relent as he blasts the third ball straight down the ground for a six. Three balls later Finch repeats the shot for another six over long-on as the Australian opener races to 46 from 30 balls, with McCullum playing second fiddle on 23 from 12 balls.

Medium pacer Mitchell Marsh comes into the attack. Finch pulls a short ball but the fielder at deep square leg makes a good diving stop to keep it down to two.

McCullum has a wild swing but gets a thick outside edge for a four before Finch takes a single from the last ball to race to his fifty from 33 balls.

 
Gujarat 62-0 (6 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Pune introduce spin as the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin comes into the attack. Finch takes a single from the first ball before McCullum clips it off his pads past short fine leg for three runs. However, Finch is unable to get runs from the last four balls as he goes hard but Ashwin manages to keep him quiet.

So, we will have Ashwin from both ends as leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin comes on from the other end. But the rookie spinner has a horror start as he is hit for four boundaries in his first over.

The second ball is short as Finch pulls it through midwicket for a four before he sweeps the next square on the leg side for another boundary.

Ashwin bowls a big wide down the leg side which even Dhoni fails to stop to give away three extra runs.

Another short ball is crashed through the covers for a boundary before Finch sweeps the last ball for another four to get 20 runs from the over.

Gujarat sitting pretty on 62 for no loss in six overs, with Finch on 34 from 25 balls, while McCullum is on 22 from 11 balls.

 
Gujarat 38-0 (4 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

RP Singh offers McCullum some width who blasts it over the covers for a six. It is a packed off-side field with five fielders inside the circle, forcing McCullum to play across the line with the left-arm seamer bowling from round the wicket.

Two balls later, McCullum pulls a short ball over midwicket for the second six of the over.

Gujarat are cutting loose here as RP Singh goes for 14 runs in his second over.

Ishant again starts his over with a poor delivery, short and wide, which Finch cuts over point for a four. Two singles before Finch gets another long hop which he again cuts over the off-side for the second four of the over to bring up his 1000 runs in the IPL.

Ishant goes for 11 runs as Gujarat hit 25 runs from the last two overs to race to 38 for no loss in four overs.

 
Gujarat 13-0 (2 ovs) vs Pune 163-5 | SCORECARD

Left-arm pacer R P Singh opens the bowling for Pune. The first ball swings a lot as Aaron Finch, who walked across his stumps is beaten but survives the shout for LBW.

He is beaten again off the third ball as RP gets the ball to swing but picks a leg bye.

Brendon McCullum needs to time to warm up as he comes down and lofts the first ball he faces, over mid-on for a four and takes a single from the next and Finch gets a single from the last ball as seven comes from the first over.

Ishant Sharma starts the second over with a poor delivery, full on the pads as Finch flicks it square over the leg side for a four.

But he manages to string it back for the rest, conceding two more runs as Gujarat reach 13 for no loss in two overs.

 Pune 163-5 (20 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Jadeja has played an integral role in Gujarat's superb comeback as he bowls Marsh for seven as he goes for a wild swing but misses.

He was struggling against Jadeja as he had a couple of wild swings before finally missing one and was bowled.

New batsman Rajat Bhatia nearly pops the first ball back to the bowler but it falls short before inside edging the next.

Another superb over from Jadeja, who has conceded just four runs in his last two overs, which is the 17th and 19th over. He finishes with superb figures of two for 18 in four overs.

Bravo to bowl the final over. Dhoni has a wild swing but gets a thick outside edge for a four past a diving keeper Karthik.

He drives the next ball through the covers and instantly rushes back for the second despite his partner Bhatia initially not willing to come back before he goes back and is saved by a wild throw.

Dhoni drives the third ball to long-on for another two runs before the Pune captain deposits a slower ball down the ground for a six.

The next ball is driven straight to long-on to Jadeja, who sends back a good flat throw but keeper Karthik fails to collect to give away another two runs. He steers the last ball past short thirdman for a four as Bravo goes for 20 runs in his final over to finish with one for 43 in four overs.

Dhoni finishes unbeaten on a quickfire 22 from 10 balls as Pune finish on a healthy 163 for five in 20 overs.

Dhoni's last over assault must have boosted Pune's spirits as only nine runs come in the three overs before that.

However, the pitch looks flat and full of runs and Gujarat's batsmen must be fancying their chances of chasing down this total.

 Pune 141-4 (18 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Pune continue to lose wickets and this time Smith goes after a wide delivery from Jadeja and lofts it straight into the hands of Faulkner at sweeper cover.

Smith walks back after scoring just five as Pune slip to 134 for four, in the 17th over.

Pune have lost steam in the last few overs, losing three wickets in the last 15 deliveries as Gujarat Lions make a good comeback in the last 15-20 minutes.

Pune are struggling to get any sort of momentum as Jadeja concedes just two runs in his third over.

Bravo, who has two overs in hand, comes back. Not surprising that he starts with a slower ball which Mitchell Marsh defends and is beaten by the next.

It turns out to be another excellent over with Pune getting just five runs from it.

 Pune 134-3 (16 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Australia captain Steven Smith walks in at No. 4 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni waiting in the wings.

Smith gets an early lifeline as he risks a difficult second run off James Faulkner but is saved by a wild throw from Jakati as the wicketkeeper has to stretch wide and collect it.

Du Plessis picks another couple of risky runs on the leg side before picking two more runs wide of long-off.

Tambe comes back, to bowl his fourth and final over. Du Plessis lofts the first ball over the covers for a four and repeats the shot off the next delivery as Brendon McCullum makes an acrobatic effort, running to his left at mid-off but is unable to hold on and deflects the ball over the ropes for a six.

But Tambe gets revenge as du Plessis comes down the track but is beaten and is stumped after a good knock of 69 from 43 balls, having hit five fours and four sixes.

Tambe finishes with good figures of two for 33 in four overs with Pune on 134 for three in 16 overs.

India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes out to join Smith in the middle as Pune looking to push in the final few overs.

 Pune 113-2 (14 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Pune have had enough of playing it steady as du Plessis smashes the second ball of Jakati's final over straight down the ground for a four.

He smashes the last ball through the covers for the second boundary of the over. That four also helps du Plessis race to his half-century, from just 33 balls, having hit four fours and three sixes.

Pune looking on course for a huge total as they reach 111 for one in 13 overs.

Bravo, who went for 16 runs in his first over, comes back. The first ball is hit on the leg side for a single by KP before Faf defends the next ball and is beaten by the third as Bravo does well with the change of pace.

He manages to squeeze the fourth ball past point for a four before KP is beaten by another slower ball.

Bravo beats Pietersen all ends up with the last ball, which is again slow and dips sharply to take the bottom edge and crash into the stumps.

Pietersen walks back after scoring 37 from 31 balls, having put on 86 runs for the second wicket with du Plessis.

Good comeback over from Bravo, conceding just two runs, while breaking the dangerous partnership.

 Pune 100-1 (12 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Tambe is bowling well, keeping the two batsmen tied down, who are desperate to attack at every opportunity. He concedes just five runs in his third over, for total of 20 runs in three overs while picking up a wicket.

And Jakati also does well not to concede any boundaries in his third over with Gujarat looking to string together a succession of good overs and build some pressure.

Medium pacer James Faulkner comes into the attack. Pietersen steers the first ball fine of the short thirdman fielder for a four, the first boundary after three overs.

Three more singles helps bring up Pune's 100 in 12 overs, with Faf on 44 from 30 balls and KP on 34 from 25 balls.

 Pune 82-1 (9 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack, the third spinner to be used today.

Two singles from the first four balls before Faf continues his assault with another straight six followed by a single from the last ball to retain strike.

Bravo is taken off after that expensive start as he makes way for Tambe, who claimed a wicket in his first over.

Three singles from the first three balls followed by two runs as Pietersen slaps a short ball through the covers and then takes one.

The last ball is again a bit short as Faf hits it powerfully through the covers for a four as Pune continue to prosper at a good rate, to race to 76 for one in eight overs.

Jadeja bowling flat quick deliveries in his second over in a bid to not allow the two batsmen anything to get under. He manages to keep them quiet conceding just six runs in his second over.

But Gujarat need a wicket to check Pune's charge, who have reached 82 for one in nine overs, with KP on 23 form 16 balls, and Faf on 37 from 21 balls.

 Pune 57-1 (6 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Change of ends for Jakati, who replaces Praveen, who bowled two overs for 12 runs with the new ball.

And Raina bringing on a left-arm spinner against KP is not surprising though, who is content to take a single from the first ball.

Faf comes down the track, makes a bit of room and heaves it down the ground over long-on for a six. A quick single before KP dances down the track and flicks it past midwicket for his first boundary and takes a single.

The last ball is a full toss but Faf can't find the gap as he hits it straight to the fielder at mid-on.

Another change in the bowling as Tambe is taken off despite taking the wicket in his first over as he makes way for Dwayne Bravo.

The first ball is a long hop as KP rocks back and pulls it behind square on the leg side for a six.

The second ball is a full toss but Pietersen is unable to make most and gets an inside edge for a quick single.

Two more singles before Faf lofts a slower length ball straight down the ground for a six followed by a single as Bravo is hit for 16 runs in his first over.

Despite Rahane's early wicket, Pune have recovered well to race to 57 for one in six overs with Faf on 20 from 12 balls and KP on 15 from seven.

 Pune 28-1 (4 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

Praveen continues as Rahane picks a single from the third ball, to thirdman before Faf punches the next through the off-side for a boundary, his first of the innings followed by two singles from the last two deliveries of the over.

Just one over for Jakati before he makes way for 44-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe.

Rahane comes down the track to the third ball and lofts it down the ground over mid-on for a four.

But the veteran leg-spinner gets his revenge with the slider as Rahane misses the straight delivery and is trapped leg before wicket for 21.

New batsman Kevin Pietersen gets off the mark with a single to long-off from the last ball of the over.

A perfect start for Tambe, taking the wicket of the in-form Rahane, while conceding just five runs.

 Pune 16-0 (2 ovs) vs Lions | SCORECARD

India's former fast bowler Praveen Kumar to open the bowling for Lions. The second ball is short and wide as Ajinkya Rahane crashes it through the covers for a boundary to get the visitors off the mark in some style. He edges the next ball to thirdman for a single before Faf du Plessis defends the rest of the over.

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati to share the new ball. Rahane and du Plessis pick a single each before the former slaps the fourth ball past mid-on for a four and hits the next one through midwicket for another boundary as Pune reach 16 for no loss in two overs.

Rising Pune Supergiants captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the toss and elected to bat against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot.

Pune, who thrashed Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in their opening match, have retained the same team.

Meanwhile, Lions have made three changes as they bring in spinners Pravin Tambe and Shadab Jakati in place of Pradeep Sangwan and Sarabjeet Ladda, while medium pace all-rounder Akashdeep Nath comes in for Ishan Kishan.

Welcome to the coverage of the sixth match of the Indian Premier League between Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot, on Thursday.

After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants face other in an exciting clash.

The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps.

Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams.

The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing.

They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.

The Lions though needed a proper team effort in taming Kings XI Punjab, who batted well but were pretty ordinary when they bowled.

Aaron Finch was in good touch but the wayward Punjab bowlers only made his job easy. The big positive for the Lions was the heart showed by young Ishan Kishan.

The Under-19 Indian captain played with a lot of gumption and his confident flick off Mitchell Johnson was a proof of that.

Dwayne Bravo continued his impressive form in T20s as he became the only IPL player to have a combo of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.

Overall, the Lions look like a good package but they will be tested by the Supergiants, who are looking the most formidable outfit this year in the League.