IPL 2016 has moved into an interesting phase towards the middle, and teams have understood their strengths and weaknesses, and their best XI as well. Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad have been quality outfits in the competition, and will be keen to emerge victorious in a huge encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
Gujarat Lions started the competition brilliantly, but their form has dipped of late, leading to they losing their last two matches. The Gujarat Lions batsmen have let the team down on both instances, but make no mistake. With players like Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina, they have a formidable batting line-up.
Gujarat Lions depend on their openers — McCullum and Smith — to a great extent for an aggressive start, which has not happened in the last two games. The openers will be keen to shine against Sunrisers Hyderabad. If the openers excel, they have the firepower in the form of Finch, Raina and Dinesh Karthik to flourish in the later stages of the innings.
The Raina-led side has some wonderful batsmen, but is short of world-class bowlers, instead depending on Dhawal Kulkarni and Praveen Kumar with the new ball, while Ravindra Jadeja is the experienced spinner. These bowlers have to be on top of their game if they are to emerge victorious against SRH, who have wonderful batsmen.
SRH have as opener one of the most dangerous players in IPL — David Warner — and the left-hander has been in brilliant form in the competition. Warner has scored an incredible 386 runs so far. It is due to his batting heroics that SRH have won four matches so far. Their batting line-up is expected to be stronger with the return of Yuvraj Singh. The left-hander is available for the game in Hyderabad.
"He (Yuvraj Singh) is available. When we finalise our XI, he is very much in our thoughts. Yuvraj Singh is a seasoned all-rounder, who brings experience to the team and can make useful contribution to the team both with bat and ball," India Today quoted coach Tom Moody as saying.
Though Warner might have bagged headlines for SRH with his incredible batting, their bowlers have also shone in the competition. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman have been impressive, picking seven wickets each in IPL 2016. Another brilliant performance from the duo can help SRH defeat Gujarat Lions.
Moody believes the Bangladesh bowler has fit into the team really well.
"He is a wonderful guy. He has fitted into the group very well. He is a good character. He has good personality," Moody said.
Where to watch live
SRH vs Gujarat Lions IPL 2016 match – is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. IST (3:30 p.m. BST, 10:30 a.m. ET). Live TV coverage of the SRH vs Gujarat Lions IPL 2016 match will be on Sony Max, Sony Six/HD, Sony ESPN/HD. Online options are available on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Sky Sports 2 will broadcast the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions IPL 2016 match live in the UK and Ireland, with the live stream options on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch SRH vs Gujarat Lions IPL 2016 match onESPN, while the game can also be live streamed on Watch ESPN.Sportsnet and viewers in Canada can watch theRCB vs KKR IPL 2016 match on Watch Sportsnet.
OSN Sports Cricket will show Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat LionsIPL 2016 match in the Middle East and North Africa, while all the action can also be watched via live streaming online on OSN Cricket Play.
Supersport and Supersport Live Video will broadcast Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions in South Africa.
Viewers from across the world, around 133 countries, can watch the IPL 2016 match live online on Cricketgateway.
