Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum guided Gujarat Lions to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants in the battle of debutants at the Indian Premier League in Rajkot Thursday. Their second consecutive win propelled Gujarat Lions to the top of the points table. Chasing a below-par 164 for win, Gujarat Lions rode on a powerful batting display to overwhelm the target with two overs to spare. Earlier, Faf du Plessis smashed a quick half century before Gujarat Lions pulled things back with fine death bowling display to restrict the Supergiants to 163 for five. Coming out to chase the target, Finch (50 off 36) and McCullum (49 off 31) got Gujarat Lions off to a breezy start, sharing 85 runs for the opening stand in just 8.3 overs. Finch perished trying to hit a boundary, caught by Ishant Shama at fine-leg off Murugan Ashwin (2-31). McCullum got a life when Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed a regulation stumping. But it did not cost Supergiants much as he was out soon after, caught by Du Plessis off Ishant Sharma. But the damage had been done and thereafter Gujarat captain Suresh Raina (24) and DwayneBravo (22 off 10) played sensibly to take the host home with 12 balls to spare. Electing to bat earlier in the day, Du Plessis (69) and Kevin Pietersen (37) thumped the bowlers after the fall of Ajinkya Rahane (21) to raise hopes of a 200-plus score for Supergiants at one stage, but Gujarat pulled things back with brilliant death bowling from Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with impressive figures off 2-18 from his four overs. Brief Scores: Gujarat Lions 164 for 3 (Finch 50, McCullum 49, M Ashwin 2-31) beat Rising Pune Supergiants 163 for 5 (Du Plessis 69, Pietersen 37, Jadeja 2-18) by seven wickets.
