Rajkot: MS Dhoni-led Rising Pune SuperGiants will lock horns with Suresh Raina-Raina-led Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on Thursday. Both the teams are playing their first IPL this season and have won their inaugural matches. Here we take a look at the players who can make a difference for their teams in IPL-9 match No. 6.

Rising Pune SuperGiants

MS Dhoni: This is self-explanatory. He is the best finisher of the game today. He captained CSK in all the eight seasons and won it twice. On numerous occasions,Dhoni had bailed his team out of trouble and the SuperGiants would be hoping that he does the same, playing for their team.

Steve Smith: Australian Captain Steve Smith is one of the best players of the game right now. He has played for Pune warriors in the past and will certainly play a crucial role for the SuperGiantsin their first season.

Kevin Pieterson: KP still remains one of the most destructive batsmen England had ever produced. He was in exceptional form in this year’s Big Bash smashing 74* in the final. He also is an excellent fielder and his form will have a huge say as to where the SuperGiants finish this season.

Gujarat Lions

Suresh Raina: He will be captaining the Gujarat Lions this season. Coming off a bad WT20 he will be eager to prove his credentials to the Indian selectors. He is the highest run scorer in the IPL, scoring 3699 runs.

Brendon McCulum: The recently retired former New Zealand captain was responsible for giving CSK a fiery start along with Dwayne Smith. This season Gujarat fans will be hoping that he can do the same for them. Having a strike rate of 155.71, he surely is a player to watch out for.

Dwayne Smith: He has been the most consistent opener in the IPL for the last few seasons. Be it for Mumbai or Chennai he has been responsible for getting his teams off to a flier. He also has a thing or two to prove to the West Indies cricket board,having not been picked for the World T20.