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Openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum provided the perfect platform as Gujarat Lions chased down an imposing 196-run target to beat Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League match, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Pune, on Friday.
Smith scored a 37-ball 63 and McCullum 43 off 22 balls as the Lions kept the top spot in the points table with six wins from seven games.
Pune, despite a magnificent 101 off 54 balls from Steven Smith, are in sixth place after their fifth in seven games. Australia's captain registered the third century in this ninth edition of the cash-rich Twenty20 league, Quinton de Kock and Virat Kohli having attained the landmark in previous matches.
While Smith and McCullum scored 93 runs off only 49 balls for the first wicket, skipper Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik capitalized on the positive start to take Gujarat to the target.
Raina smashed an impressive 34 off 28 balls, while Karthik scored a 20-ball 33.
With nine runs required off the last over, the match could have turned either way until James Faulkner scored the winning run off the last ball.
Earlier, asked to bat first by Lions skipper Suresh Raina, Pune Supergiants rode on opener Rahane's 53 and Smith's knock to set a challenging target.
Rahane and Smith were involved in a 113-run partnership for the second wicket in just 11 overs, after the home team lost Saurabh Tiwary with just 13 runs on the board in the third over.
While Rahane found the fence five times during his 45-ball knock, Australia captain Smith smashed the Gujarat Lions bowlers for eight boundaries and five sixes to lay the foundation for a healthy total.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit 30 off 18 balls, inclusive of two fours and as many sixes. He added 64 runs in double quick time with Smith before Dwayne Bravo put the brakes on the third wicket stand.
Smith got to his century off 53 balls when whacked Bravo over midwicket for a four.
However, the West Indian all-rounder had his revenge when he clean bowled the Aussie the next ball.
Dhoni then finished off the innings with a boundary through mid-off.
Barring Bravo, none of the Gujarat Lions bowlers tasted success. The other two dismissals came through run-outs.
While the Smith-Rahane association laid the foundation after an early setback, it was the former’s partnership with Dhoni that enabled Pune increase their run-rate. The duo scored almost 12 runs an over in the 5.5 overs they batted together.
Gujarat Lions slow left-arm spinner Shivil Kaushik, playing in place of the injured Pravin Tambe, went for 32 runs in three overs.
The Lions came into the match with five victories from six games, while the Supergiants were placed sixth with two wins and four defeats.