Gujarat Lions' Dinesh Karthik needs to make most of the starts. IANSRajkot: Struggling Gujarat Lions are set to receive a much-needed boost with the imminent return of ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja against Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Lions, who finished an impressive third in their maiden IPL appearance last year, did not have the best of starts in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
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The Suresh Raina-led side suffered consecutive defeats against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and title holder Sunrisers Hyderabad in its two matches.
And come Friday, Lions would be desperate to turn their fortunes around in front of home fans at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here.
Lions got a much-needed boost in the form of Jadeja, who is likely to play his first match on Friday.
Jadeja missed Lions' first two games after he was advised rest for two weeks by the BCCI medical team soon after the India's four-match Test series against Australia.
Jadeja has had a terrific home season with both ball and bat for India and his return will definitely boost Lions' morale.
Another key member, West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who is recovering from injury, however is doubtful even though he took part in the team's practice session on Wednesday.
Lions' strong point is the team's batting department.
With the likes of Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Jason Roy, Raina and Dinesh Karthik in its ranks, Lions heavily depends on its batting unit.
But the likes of McCullum and Finch have failed to live up to their reputation so far, garnering just 40 and 18 runs respectively in the first two games.
Opener Roy started the innings well on both occasion against KKR and SRH, but failed to convert the good starts into big knocks.
Only skipper Raina, who struck unbeaten 68 against KKR at home and Karthik (47, 30) have shouldered the responsibility in the middle-order.
West Indian Dwayne Smith can be destructive with the bat on his day.
But Lions' main problem lies in its bowling unit which lacks teeth and experience.
In the first two games, Lions' bowlers have managed to picked up only one wicket with veteran Praveen Kumar scalping Shikhar Dhawan.
Dhawal Kulkarni, who was Lions' most successful bowler last year, Praveen, Basil Thampi, leg-spinner Tejas Baroka and left-arm chinaman Shivil Kaushik all looked ordinary in the first two games.
And Jadeja and experienced medium-pacer Munaf Patel's inclusion in the playing eleven will definitely add strength to Lions' bowling attack.
Rising Pune Supergiant, on the other hand, started their campaign on a winning note by beating Mumbai Indians before suffering back-to-back defeats against Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane made a half-century in the first game and would be looking to give a good start along side Mayank Agarwal.
Skipper Steven Smith, who missed their last match due to an upset stomach, and Manoj Tiwary, who lost his father, are expected to return to the playing eleven.
Smith, Tiwary and the costliest buy of IPL 10, Ben Stokes all have abilities to play big shots, but it is the form of former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni which is a cause of concern for the Pune outfit going into the game.
Dhoni, regarded as the game's best finisher, has been miserably out of touch and he would be desperate to answer his critics with a fine show with the bat.
Pune's bowling revolves around leg-spinner Imran Tahir, but Smith would be looking for an improved showing from his pace trio of Ashok Dinda, Deepak Chahar and Stokes.
The teams (from): Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (capt), Akshadeep Nath, Shubham Agarwal, Basil Thampi, Dwayne Bravo, Chirag Suri, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Manpreet Gony, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, Dhaval Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Shivil Kaushik, Brandon McCullum, Munaf Patel, Pratham Singh, Jason Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Jaydev Shah, Shelly Shaurya, Nathusingh, Dwayne Smith, Tejas Baroka, Andre Tye.
Rising Pune Supergiant: Steve Smith (capt), Faf du Plessis, Adam Zampa, Usman Khawja, M.S. Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Ankus Bains, Rajat Bhatia, Ankit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Jaskarn Singh, Baba Aparajith, Deepak Chahar, Mayank Agarwal, Daniel Christian, Luckie Farguson, Ben Stokes and Manoj Tiwary.
