IPL 2016, GLvsSRH: Match Preview

New Delhi: Fresh from the spectacular win against formidable KKR in the eliminator, the Sunrisers Hyderabad will have their eyes on the first IPL title when they take on this year’s debutant Gujarat Lions at Feroz Shah Kotla here on Friday evening.

Raina led GL must be having the thought of defeat against RCB hovering in their minds but the stakes in the match promise to be a cracker of contest in the second qualifier with players from both the sides being in top form. Both the teams have done plenty of hard work throughout the tournament and if they want their dreams alive, they have to play some tremendous Cricket in today’s high-octane game.

Incidentally, both the teams depend too much on their respective skippers i.e. Suresh Raina and David Warner- both left-handers and both explosive batsmen.

Gujarat Lions-

• The batting boasts of having some of the most dangerous stroke players in contemporary Cricket like Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina.
• Each and every player of the side is capable of damaging any bowling attack.
• Bowling is a factor that hurts GL.
• Dhawal Kulkarni is playing a ‘one man army’ in bowling department.
• All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo have to rise above their current form in this big game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad-

• The trio of left-handers- David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh- is able to thrash any bowling attack out of the ground.
• Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha, Ben Cutting and Deepak Hooda, though moderate success so far, provide enough edge in the middle order.
• In the absence of experienced Ashish Nehra, who has undergone a surgery, the purple cap holder, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman have to perform creditably in this IPL. They will again lead the bowling attack of SRH.
• Karn Sharma’s spin can make roads tougher for GL batting line-up.