Rajkot: A top-heavy Gujarat Lions would look to better their debut season’s success and aim for a winning start against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match, on Friday.
Gujarat Lions were the table-toppers at the end of the league stage in the last IPL, but finished third after defeats in the two Qualifiers against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
But this time around, the Suresh Raina-led side would look to go one step up in only their second season of the IPL. Gujarat Lions boost of a robust batting line-up and were the only team last year to score 70 or more in the powerplay. Five of Gujarat Lions batsmen — Raina, Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dinesh Karthik and Dwayne Smith — were among runs in the last IPL. They also have the likes of Jason Roy and in-form Dinesh Karthik in their rank.
Having defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in both home and away games in the previous season, Gujarat Lions also enjoy a psychological advantage over them.
On the bowling front, Gujarat Lions have an effective new-ball pair in Dhawal Kulkarni and Praveen Kumar.
Kulkarni’s 14 wickets in the powerplay were the most for any bowler in 2016, and he combined well with Praveen. But Gujarat Lions will miss two of their key players — Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, who is out injured early on.
Jadeja, on the other hand, will sit out of the first few games after a long Test season.
