Rising Pune Supergiant host Gujarat Lions in their 10th match of 2017 Indian Premier League season at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Monday.
The hosts, who are placed fourth with 10 points from nine games, will look to seal their spot in the top-four of the league after enjoying a good recent run - four wins from five games. Steve Smith's men are heading into the game after decimating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 61 runs on Saturday.
On the other hand, Gujarat, who are placed sixth in the eight-team league with only three wins from nine games, cannot afford to lose another as it will all but end their chances of making it to the play-offs.
After struggling to find the right overseas combination in the early stages of the season, RPS seems to have cracked the code with Dan Christian playing a key role along with skipper Smith in the team. While Ben Stokes is close to regaining full fitness, Lockie Ferguson, who impressed with figures of 4-0-7-2 in their last match on Saturday, is set to retain his place.
Smith also has used his bowlers, especially Imran Tahir and Washington Sundar, well and the Australian captain needs to be at his best today if they are to contain the batting-heavy Gujarat unit.
With Rahul Tripathi and Ajinkya Rahane getting them off to good starts, RPS batting unit looks settled. The team though would want MS Dhoni, who seems to have found form, to contribute more consistently.
On the other hand, Gujarat will be missing their strike bowler Andrew Tye, who was stretchered off after he dislocated his shoulder in their game against Mumbai. The struggling Lions though can take confidence from their early-season win over Pune as they head into today's crucial encounter.
TV Schedule
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UK: Sky Sports
Malaysia: Astro SuperSport
South Africa: SuperSport
Caribbean: Flow TV, Sportsmax
Middle East: OSN Cricket
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Team News
RPS
Possible XI: Smith (c), Tripathi, Rahane, Dhoni (wk), Tiwary, Christian, Sundar, Ferguson, Chahar, Unadkat, Tahir
GL
Possible XI: Raina (c), Kishan, McCullum, Finch, Smith, Karthik (wk), Jadeja, Faulkner, Thampi, Soni
