START TIME: 8:00 PM

As the two new teams of the Indian Premier League 2016 cross paths for the second time in the season, there is a hint of contrast to their campaigns. While Rising Pune Supergiants have huffed and puffed to two wins in six fixtures and are currently part of a mid-table clutter, Suresh Raina’s Gujarat Lions have secured five wins in six to sit atop the points table.

“It was like playing a practice match for CSK,” Jadeja had reckoned after the last face-off between the two sides. The Saurashtra spinner’s words reflect the fact that the two teams are made up of former teammates who are now competing to outwit each other.

Gujarat had gotten the better of their fellow-debutants in the previous fixture, when they chased down 164 with two overs to spare. After a much-needed victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants will hope to deny Raina & Co. from doing the double over them on Friday.

Despite putting an end to their four-game losing streak, Pune have been dented by Faf du Plessis’s finger injury that ruled him out of the rest of the season. Usman Khawaja, the Australian opener, has been named as the South African’s replacement, but it remains to be seen if he can make it on time for Friday’s fixture. With Kevin Pietersen also ruled out, MS Dhoni will have the headache of finding the right batting combination at the top of the order, if Khawaja isn’t available.

The skipper can take heart in the fact that his misfiring bowling unit struck form in their previous fixture, when they restricted a David Warner-led batting unit to a paltry total. In the face of a daunting challenge against the likes of Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, Dhoni will hope Ashok Dinda can provide his side with yet another dream start.

As far as Gujarat are concerned, despite exceptional batting from their openers, they were kept on their toes all through. While their ability to hold their nerve and eke out a narrow one-run win highlights their sheer resolve, Raina will hope his boys can work harder to close down games after gaining an early upperhand. The likes of Dhawal Kulkarni and Praveen Kumar will be pivotal to Gujarat’s fate in the fixture against the likes of Steven Smith, who has slowly but steadily started to warm up to the tournament.

Pune had made two changes in their previous game, bringing in Dinda and Marsh for Ankit Sharma and Albie Morkel. With both the inclusions doing well, Dhoni might have to give up the luxury of an extra batsman in Saurabh Tiwary, who hasn’t faced a single delivery in the last two games, and could possibly make way for the extra spinner.

Aaron Finch, who was struggling with his hamstring a few days back, had flown to Mumbai to see a specialist. It remains to be seen if he’s available for selection. Given McCullum and Smith’s explosive batting at the top, the Aussie may not be rushed back into the side. Given the surface in Pune assists the spinners, Gujarat Lions might also look at including Shadab Jakati or even Shivil Kaushik, the left-arm chinaman bowler, as an extra spin option. If they decide to do that, Ishan Kishan might have to make way.

Teams:

Gujarat Lions (From): Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ishan Kishan, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Sarabjit Ladda, Pradeep Sangwan, Paras Dogra, Shadab Jakati, Eklavya Dwivedi, Jaydev Shah, Dale Steyn, Andrew Tye, Aaron Finch, Akshdeep Nath, Umang Sharma, Amit Mishra, Shivil Kaushik

Rising Pune Supergiants (From): Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Saurabh Tiwary, MS Dhoni(w/c), Thisara Perera, Mitchell Marsh, Rajat Bhatia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Albie Morkel, Usman Khawaja, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Peter Handscomb, RP Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Adam Zampa, Ankit Sharma, Scott Boland, Ishwar Pandey, Deepak Chahar, Baba Aparajith, Ankush Bains