IPL 9: Eagles out to tame vengeful Lions

Gujarat skipper Suresh Raina (left) and Praveen Kumar at a training session in Hyderabad on Thursday. (Photo: Deepak Deshpande)

The last time Gujarat Lions ran into the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ninth season of the Indian Premier League, in their own den at Rajkot, they were handed a humbling 10-wicket defeat — their first of the season. Thus, Friday’s match represents their only shot at exacting revenge against the Eagles, in the league stage at least, when the two sides meet at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

While they are one of the form teams of the season, the Lions have lost enough matches to project a sense of frailty. The aura of apparent invincibility they had about them at the start of the season has long since been dispelled. Their net run-rate is in the red; their top-scorer, captain Suresh Raina with 252 runs from nine matches, is 10th on the list of run-getters. More importantly, Raina hasn’t crossed the fifty-run mark in five matches. And Dwayne Bravo, with 10 scalps is within nipping distance of Top 5 on the bowlers’ chart. Factor in the losses in their previous two games, it is easy to see the Lions aren’t just vengeful, they’re also wounded.

A curious position to be in for a team that is second on the table.

In contrast, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are brimming with confidence. Their captain David Warner is in imperious form, having smashed 386 runs from seven innings with five half-centuries (including two 90+ scores). Warner’s inspirational form has translated into some rousing performances from the Eagles. While it is true that they are a tad reliant on their skipper —they did lose when the stocky southpaw failed against Pune — the Sunrisers have a great bowling attack.

In fact, it was their bowlers who gave them a thrilling win last Saturday against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where they defended 194/5 and won by 15 runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been their best bowler yet, with 10 wickets from seven matches and the wiry medium-pacer will look to carry on against the Lions.

Also, Yuvraj Singh might get his first game of the season. The left-hander, who hasn’t played so far due to injury, has been up and about making public appearances for Sunrisers.

As the tournament’s league stage reaches its business end, the top four places on the table are beginning to take definite shape. Should the Lions win Friday’s match in Hyderabad, they will retake the No.1 spot. Should the Eagles win, they will get back into the top half.

It should make for an engaging match. It is after all, a clash between the Kings of the IPL jungle and the Lords of the skies.