New Delhi, April 14: A superb hat-trick by Andrew Tye in the final over helped Gujarat Lions(GL) restrict Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) to a total of 171/8 in their 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash in Rajkot. RPS skipper Steve Smith and opener Rahul Tripathi scored 43 and 37, respectively, as they got off to a flying start, but Tye took over the show. Local star Ravindra Jadeja, playing his first IPL 2017 match, took the key wicket of MS Dhoni, who continued his poor run in IPL 2017. Get live cricket score of Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiant here.
10:04 pm IST: Shardul Thakur starts his spell with a good over, barring one delivery that McCullum pulls for a four. Six runs off the over. GL are 33/0 after three overs. (Smith 20*, McCullum 13*)
09:57 pm IST: Lockie Ferguson joins the bowling attack from the other end. He is hit for a six by McCullum in his third delivery. Smith then ends the over with a four. This has been some start! RPS 27/0 after two overs. (Smith 19*, McCullum 8*)
09:54 PM IST: Smith is in some hurry here! He hits a six and a four off the last two balls of the first over. GL are 16/0 (Smith 15*, McCullum 1*).
09:52 pm IST: Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum open the innings for GL, with Ankit Sharma opening RPS’s bowling attack. Smith scores a boundary off the first delivery.
09:45 pm IST: What a comeback by Gujarat Lions after that incredible start by Rising Pune Supergiant! GL will fancy themselves to chase down the 172-run target here.
09:38 pm IST: RPS end their innings at 171/8. Andrew Tye’s magical spell helps GL come back into the match after RPS’s fiery start.
09:35 pm IST: HAT-TRICK! Andrew Tye completes his hat-trick! Shardul Thakur goes for a duck! RPS 167/8.
09:34 pm IST: OUT! Manoj Tiwary falls for 31 to Tye. RPS 167/7.
09:32 pm IST: OUT! Ankit Sharma is gone from an Andrew Tye delivery. RPS 167/6.
09:28 pm IST: Manoj Tiwary’s bat breaks into two as he tries to play a Praveen Kumar delivery towards mid-wicket. Praven ends with figures of 1/51 from his four overs. RPS are 167/5 from 19 overs. (Tiwary 31*, Ankit 25*)
09:24 pm IST: Two more overs to go in this innings. RPS are 155/5 from 18 overs. (Tiwary 29*, Ankit 16*)
09:18 pm IST: Costly over from Jadeja to end his spell. He ends with figures of 1/40 from his four overs. RPS are 149/5 from 17 overs (Tiwary 26*, Ankit 14*).
09:15 pm IST: Nine runs from Thampi’s over. RPS are 135/5 after 16 overs. (Tiwary 18*, Ankit Sharma 8*).
09:07 pm IST: OUT! Dhoni falls for just 5 as he is adjudged lbw from a Ravindra Jadeja delivery. RPS are 120/5.
09:06 pm IST: A healthy 10 runs from Jakati’s second over. RPS are 120/4 from 14 overs. (Tiwary 11*, Dhoni 5*).
09:00 pm IST: Dhoni opens his account with a single. RPS are 110/4 after 13 overs (Tiwary 5*, Dhoni 1*).
08:57 pm IST: OUT! Stokes is bowled by Tye for 25. RPS are 106/4. MS Dhoni takes the crease for RPS.
08:52 pm IST: RPS cross the 100-run mark. They are 101/3 from 11 overs. (Stokes 20*, Manoj Tiwary 3*)
08:46 pm IST: Steve Smith fall! Dwayne Smith gets the big wicket! The RPS skipper mistimed his shot and Aaron Finch takes a comfortable catch at long-on.
08:38 pm IST: Very good over from Thampi there; he concedes just three runs off it. RPS are 76/2 after 8 overs (Smith 38*, Stokes 3*).
08:36 pm IST: A Basil Thampi delivery hits Steve Smith on the right side of his rib cage. He goes down for a brief moment, but gets back up.
08:32 pm IST: Ben Stokes arrives at the crease. The Englishman will be looking for a healthy stand with Smith.
08:28 pm IST: OUT! Tripathi is caught by Aaron Finch at mid-off. Andrew Tye with the dismissal. Tripathi falls for 37. RPS are 64/2 after 5.5 overs.
08:23 pm IST: Smith, Tripathi pick apart Praveen Kumar in his third over. 25 runs of it! RPS are 60/1 after 5 overs (Smith 28*, Tripathi 30*).
08:19 pm IST: Shadab Jakati goes for 12 runs in his first over. Smith with a six and a four.
08:16 pm IST: Good line and length from Praveen. His second over goes for eight runs, thanks to a very well-timed shot by Tripathi in the first ball. RPS 23/1 after 3 overs (Smith 9*, Tripathi 12*).
08:13 pm IST: Shout for a run-out from GL on Tripathi. Replays show he is safe.
08:10 pm IST: Basil Thampi’s first over goes for nine runs, with Smith and Tripathi both scoring a boundary each. RPS 15/1 after 2 overs (Smith 8*, Tripathi 5*).
8:05 pm IST: Steve Smith opens his account with a boundary. RPS 6/1 after the first over (Smith 4*, Tripathi 0*).
8:01 pm IST: Ajinkya Rahane falls for a duck as he is caught in the slips by Suresh Raina from a Praveen Kumar delivery. The visitors are 0/1. Not the start they had hoped for.
08:01 pm IST: Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi are opening the innings for Rising Pune Supergiant. Praveen Kumar opens the bowling attack for Gujarat Lions.
7:55 pm IST: It is Dhawal Kulkarni, and not Dinesh Karthik, who misses out from the Gujarat Lions line-up. The latter is in the team.
7:50 pm IST: The focus will firmly be on Ravindra Jadeja, who is playing his first match in IPL 2017.
7: 39 pm IST: Gujarat Lions have made four changes. Dinesh Karthik and Shivil Kaushik have been dropped from this match.
7:35 pm IST: Gujarat Lions have won the toss and will field first.
Ravindra Jadeja’s return will add stint to Gujarat Lions’ bowling attack that has lacked depth, variety and experience in the first two matches.
Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t have asked for a better opposition than Rising Pune Supergiant as the left-arm spinner would cherish rekindling his battle against RPS skipper Steven Smith and Ben Stokes.
Jadeja, the world No 1 Test spinner, was one of the chief tormentors in the recent Test series against Australia and England.
Ravindra Jadeja finished with 25 wickets against Australia in the four-Test series that helped him take the top spot in ICC rankings. Jadeja claimed Steven Smith’s wicket, Australia’s most successful batsman on the tour, in the first three Tests.
In the five-Test series against England which India won 4-0, Jadeja ended up with 26 wickets which included a five and 10-wicket hauls.
MS Dhoni will also be under pressure to justify his place in the RPS squad. With scores of 12 not out, 5 and 11 from his first three games, MS Dhoni seems nowhere close to his best.
Steve Smith, who is set to play on Friday after missing the last match against Delhi Daredevils due to a bad stomach, is unfazed with MS Dhoni’s form.
“No, it doesn’t bother me. (It’s) only three games, (so) no problems there. He’s a class player. He’ll be fine,” said Steve Smith
