How Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Giants Were Outclassed by Suresh Raina's Lions: RPS vs GL IPL 2016 Highlights

After electing to bat first, Rising Pune Supergiants lost Ajinkya Rahane early but Faf du Plessis' 69 and skipper MS Dhoni's cameo helped the tourists post a fighting total. In reply, Aaron Finch's 50 and Brendon McCullum's 49 helped the hosts win the match by seven wickets with 12 balls to spare. Get all the highlights of Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) here. (SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | FIXTURES | RESULTS | NEWS | STREAMING | PLAY FANTASY CRICKET)

23:36 hrs IST: That's it. Thank you for joining us for today's match at Rajkot. See you all tomorrow for the match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. 

Aaron Finch (Man of the Match): "It's nice to contribute with the bat in two wins. It was a beautiful batting wicket. It's nice to bat with Baz. He takes the pressure off and is a special player."

Suresh Raina (GL skipper): "First game at home and we played really good cricket today. I thought we have to play 3-4 spinners but its not easy to hit sixes in this ground. It was about rotating our batsmen. Finchy and Baz started well."

MS Dhoni (RPS skipper): "I think it was a good score but what's important is to bowl well in the first six overs. We gave away too many runs in the powerplay. We need to look at the composition. Need to look at the players who suit us the best."

23:15 hrs IST: And that's the end. Gujarat Lions defeat Rising Pune Supergiants by 7 wickets. 

23:14 hrs IST: SIX! Slower one from Bhatia and Bravo deposits it over deep extra cover. Gujarat now require 1 off 12 balls. 

23:05 hrs IST: WICKET!  Raina st Dhoni b M Ashiwn 24(24). 

23:02 hrs IST: Three fours in a row by DJ..Bravo..Gujarat on course for second consecutive win. Gujarat now require 17 off 24 balls.  

22:58 hrs IST: Pune in desperate need of wickets. Else it looks all set for Gujarat. 

22:52 hrs IST: FOUR! First of the day for Raina. Gujarat now require 35 off 36 balls. 

22:47 hrs IST: OUT! McCullum falls short of a well-deserved fifty. Short from Ishant, McCullum comes down the track, tries to pull but instead top-edges it to du Plessis, who catches it at cover. 

22:41 hrs IST: 10 runs off 2 balls from McCullum off R Ashwin. Just 4 short of his fifty now. Gujarat now require 50 off 48 balls. 

22:40 hrs IST: Splendid dive from KP at square-leg boundary. Saves a certain four. 

22:39 hrs IST: 100 up for Gujarat. 

Indeed!

Now that is some consistency - @ImRaina in #IPL @TheGujaratLions pic.twitter.com/ZjvfOy3wws

- IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 14, 2016

22:35 hrs IST: Good comeback by Pune. Just 8 runs in the last two overs. Gujarat now require 71 off 60 balls. 

22:29 hrs IST: WICKET! Finch c Ishant b M Ashwin 50(36) 

22:27 hrs IST: Fifty for Finch in just 33 balls. Second in a row and 8th in IPL. 

22:23 hrs IST: Another SIX! Same delivery, same shot from Finch. Gujarat are 75/0 after 7 overs. 

22:21 hrs IST: SIX! Slower one from Rajat Bhatia and Finch smacks it towards long-on. 

Aaron Finch gave Gujarat Lions a blistering start in their chase of Pune Supergiants' 163/5

© BCCI

22:18 hrs IST: Four boundaries in the over. M Ashwin's proving to be very expensive. Gujarat are 62/0 after 6 overs. 

22:14 hrs IST: Consecutive fours by Finch off Murugan Ashwin. The partnership between Finch and McCullum is now 50. 

22:12 hrs IST: Excellent over from Ashwin. Just 4 off it. Gujarat are 42/0 after 5 overs. 

22:10 hrs IST: In comes R Ashwin. 

22:08 hrs IST: FOUR! Short and wide from Ishant and Finch smashes it over backward point. 

22:03 hrs IST: Two sixes by McCullum off RP Singh. Gujarat are 27/0 after 3 overs. 

22:00 hrs IST: Barring a four from Finch, a tidy over from Ishant Sharma. 

21:50 hrs IST: RP Singh to start the proceedings for Rising Pune Supergiants and has Aaron Finch hopping -- a loud appeal, umpire turns it down -- gets a leg bye. Brendon McCullum comes down the pitch and smashes it for a boundary towards midwicket. Gujarat are 7/0 after 1 over.

21:29 hrs IST: FOUR! And that's the end of first innings. RPS finish with 163/5 in their 20 overs. Dhoni remains unbeaten on 22 off 10 balls.

21:28 hrs IST: SIX! And this time, Dhoni gets the better of Bravo. Slower delivery and Dhoni dispatches it towards long-on. 

21:23 hrs IST: BOWLED! Jadeja removes Marsh. Brilliant comeback by Gujarat. At one stage it actually looked that Pune would get past 200. Just 2 runs of the penultimate over. Pune are 143/5 after 19 overs. 

21:20 hrs IST: Bravo to Dhoni. One of the best death bowlers bowling to one of the best limited overs finisher. Amazing sight! Pune are 141/4 after 18 overs. 

21:14 hrs IST: Another WICKET! And this time, Jadeja strikes to get rid off Smith. Pune in some sort of trouble now! 180 looks tough for them. 

21:11 hrs IST: WICKET! STUMPED! Du Plessis comes down the track and misses it. Dinesh Karthik affects a neat stumping. Pune are 134/3 after 16 overs. 

21:10 hrs IST: FOUR! 10 runs off 2 balls from Du Plessis off Tambe. 

21:02 hrs IST: BOWLED! Much needed wicket for Gujarat. DJ Bravo gets rid off KP. Slower one from Bravo, It dips as KP tries to hit it from outside off but instead gets a thick inside edge on middle stump. Pune are 113/2 after 14 overs. 

20:56 hrs IST: And it's fifty for Du Plessis. His 7th one in IPL. 

20:54 hrs IST: FOUR! Du Plessis uses his feet to Jakati and smashes it straight down the ground. Pune are 105/1 after 12.2 overs. 

Faf Du Plessis of Rising Pune Supergiants hits one to boundary during IPL match against the Gujarat Lions at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

© BCCI

20:48 hrs IST: FOUR! Back of length delivery from Faulkner, outside off, Pietersen times it towards thhe third-man. 

20:45 hrs IST: Jakati now balls a tidy over. Spinners pulling it back a little. Pune are 93/1 after 11 overs.

20:43 hrs IST: Great over from Tambe, just 5 off that over. Pune are 87/1 after 10 overs.

20:41 hrs IST: Three singles on the trot for Pune.

20:39 hrs IST: Breather for Gujarat - Strategic Time-out. They needed it with Pietersen and Du Plessis going great guns.

20:34 hrs IST: Four! Du Plessis and KP are just turning it on in Rajkot. Pune are 76/1 after 8 overs.

20:30 hrs IST: SIX! Du Plessis smacks it straight down the ground to Jadeja.

20:27 hrs IST: Pune are 57/1 after 6 overs.

20:23 hrs IST: SIX! Shortish delivery from Bravo and KP just punishes it towards deep backward square leg. 

20:21 hrs IST: FOUR! KP hits his first one of the day. Uses his feet and plays it powerfully towards mid-on. 

20:15 hrs IST: OUT! Rahane falls to Pravin Tambe. Pune are 28/1 after 4 overs. 

20:11 hrs IST: FOUR! And this time it's du Plessis. Lenth delivery outside off and he hits it towards the cover boundary.

20:07 hrs IST: Consecutive boundaries by Rahane. Taking full advantage of the early fielding restrictions. Pune are 16/0 after 2 overs.

20:05 hrs IST: Shadab Jakati to share the new ball with Praveen.

20:04 hrs IST: Brilliant comeback from Praveen after that boundary. Pune are 5/0 after first over.

20:01 hrs IST: FOUR! Short and wide from Praveen and Rahane cuts it away through the point region.

19:59 hrs IST: It's time for action. Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis make their way out in the middle. Praveen Kumar to start the proceedings for Gujarat.

19:48 hrs IST: That's interesting! 

#PlayerBattle for Match 6 is LIVE. It is #Jadeja v #Ashwin tonight https://t.co/ny6tqLaokH pic.twitter.com/F2NsEoE5lX

- IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 14, 2016

19:42 hrs IST: STAT ATTACK - MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina have played the most number of IPL matches together -129. This match will see the duo go against each other for the first time in T20s. 

19:32 hrs IST: Here are the playing XI of both teams: 

Rising Pune Supergiants: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Rajat Bhatia, Murugan Ashwin, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh 

Gujarat Lions: Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Akshdeep Nath, James Faulkner, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Pravin Tambe, Shadab Jakati

19:30 hrs IST: Rising Pune Supergiants skipper MS Dhoni wins the toss and elects to bat first. 

19:29 hrs IST:  Toss time! 

19:28 hrs IST: STAT ATTACK - Suresh Raina needs 53 more runs to become the first Indian to reach 6000 runs in T20 cricket. 

19:24 hrs IST: Let's see who wins the battle of spinners today! 

You have seen them spin a web around batsmen together. Let's see which way this match turns! #GameMaariChhe #GLvRPS pic.twitter.com/X2YmBMeUBL

- The Gujarat Lions (@TheGujaratLions) April 14, 2016

19:06 hrs IST:Hello and welcome to the coverage of sixth match of the Indian Premier League season 9. Gujarat Lions take on Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajkot tonight. Pune thrashed Mumbai Indians in their first game while Gujarat got the better of Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina were teammates while playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL but will now go head to head.

© AFP

The conditions at Rajkot's Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium will play a big role during the Lions and the Supergiants contest. The IPL debutants played their first games on true pitches where the ball came on to the bat. It may not be the case in Thursday's game where the slow and spin-friendly nature of the wicket may not amuse the batsmen.

Rising Pune Supergiants consigned Mumbai Indians to a nine-wicket defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9. RPS, chasing 122 for a win, won with 32 balls to spare. All three RPS batsmen - Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis and Kevin Pietersen - returned 100-plus strike rates.

Gujarat Lions beat Kings XI Punjab in Mohali by five wickets with 14 balls to spare. Three of Lions' top four batsmen returned 150-plus strike rates. It was Dwayne Bravo's 4 for 22 that ruined Punjab.

Both RPS and GL are equally matched. It will be upon the slow bowlers to control tonight's match. Ex-CSK teammates Ravichandran Ashwin (RPS) will have a direct battled with local boy Ravindra Jadeja. Brendon McCullum vs Faf du Plessis will another contest to look out for. Several personal battlelines will make this fixture an interesting one.