By: Tarish Bhatt
Gujarat Lions once again showed how dangerous a side they are by chasing down a mammoth total set by Rising Pune Supergiants in a convincing manner.
The Lions registered a three-wicket win over Pune, and consolidated top-spot in the points’ table, four points clear to second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders.
Pune had a set a 196-run target for the Lions, courtesy Steve Smith’s maiden T20 hundred, Ajinkya Rahane’s fifty and a late charge from captain MS Dhoni.
But, Gujarat Lions came out firing with their openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, who put the visitors on a winning track.
Despite losing McCullum and Smith in a space of two overs, the Lions kept on moving toward the target with Dinesh Karthik and skipper Suresh Raina.
The Supergiants’ bowling attack looked toothless against the confident Gujarat batting line-up, as they gave away plenty of easy runs, and lacked the bite.
Pune, however, managed to make a match out of it by picking some quick wickets in the concluding stage, but the Lions managed to register a three-wicket win.
In the final over Gujarat lost two successive wickets, but James Faulkner held his nerves to take his side home by hitting a four off Thisara Perera in the final ball.
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