Rajkot: Fantastic batting from Aaron Finch (50 off 36 balls) and Brendon McCullum (49 off 31 balls) helped Gujarat Lions beat Rising Pune Supergiants by seven wickets in their first encounter at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on Thursday.

Praising his players for their outstanding performance, Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina said, “When you have someone like Faulkner and Bravo, the game is not over. On a big outfield like this, I thought we could attack with three spinners. I wanted to give Bravo a chance at No. 4. It was about rotating our batsmen. Finchy and Baz started well.”

“Captaincy is just a name to be honest. We have a lot of experience in this group. Everyone has played a part,” added Raina.
Meanwhile, McCullum said, “It was a slow wicket. You want to start the tournament well. To be able to get two wins out of eight or nine that we need to qualify for the playoffs is fantastic.”

Aaron Finch, who got the man-of-the-match for his half-century, said, “It's nice to contribute with the bat in two wins. It was a beautiful batting wicket. It was great batting with Brendon tonight. Baz is a special player. I'm much happier that he is in our team. It's a great start. Pune is a strong side that is led well by MS, but the way we've played has been pleasing. Probably if we can pick a few wickets in the Powerplays, it would be fantastic. Jadeja, Bravo have been brilliant in pulling things back.”

Rising Pune Supergiants captain MS Dhoni said, “If you give away 60 in the first six overs while defending 160, it will always be difficult. I think we need to look at the composition of our side.”