Gujarat Lions not only lost their last game against Mumbai Indians, Australian player Andre Tye also dislocated his shoulder on the field. The latter is a major loss as Tye was brilliant with the ball in the earlier part of the IPL 2017. Gujarat Lions, minus Tye, will face Rising Pune Supergiant on Monday.
Without Tye, their task of grabbing the Playoffs spot has become even harder. However, Lions have no other solution, but to finish the competition on a high, and just scrape through.
RPS have momentum on their side with four wins in five matches, and have climbed to fourth spot, but they are aware that the competition will get further tight in the business end.
Both teams will need to get their team combinations perfect on Monday. RPS is sweating Ben Stokes' injury as he suffered a grade one tear in his right shoulder. The all-rounder may not be available, meaning Lockie Ferguson will get another game in the IPL.
Hence, RPS may be forced into the same playing XI, which was picked for the last game against RCB. There are some concerns like the form of Ajinkya Rahane, but he will be included in the playing XI. RPS will look for a quality performance from in-form Steve Smith and Rahul Tripathi with the bat.
It is Gujarat Lions, who will need to make a change in their playing XI. Who will replace Tye?
There are few options in the squad, but the best bet remains to be Dwayne Smith. However, the West Indian does not contribute much in the bowling department. He has been poor with both the bat and ball too, so it should be no surprise if Jason Roy features for GL.
With Irfan Pathan not delivering the ball his maiden IPl 2017 appearance, the left-arm seamer might be dropped, and Nathu Singh should feature for RPS.
But the Lions do not have many problems at the top of the order. Ishan Kishan looked brilliant when he walked in to open the innings alongside Brendon McCullum. With Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and Dinesh Karthik as the next three batsmen, they have the batting to chase down any score.
Expected playing XI
Rising Pune Supergiant: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith (c), Manoj Tiwary , MS Dhoni (wk), Ben Stokes, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Imran Tahir, Jaydev Unadkat, S Thakur.
Gujarat Lions: Ishan Kishan, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Smith, James Faulkner, Basil Thampi, P Sangwan, Ankit Soni
