Combination and consistency: The riddle that Pune’s Dhoni-Fleming need to solve

At half time, it was a match that the Rising Pune Supergiants should have won. Halfway into the second innings, the game Gujarat Lions had their manes ahead. At the start of the final over, both teams had a decent shot, though only one should have. The return encounter between the IPL newbies in Pune finally had the same result as their first game, but in a very different manner.

Here are the biggest talking points from Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants.

Pune get some luck going their way “Luck is what happens to me that is outside my control,” said Ed Smith in his book ‘Luck: What it means and why it matters’.

By that yardstick, the Rising Pune Supergiants had had their fair share of bad luck. They had lost both Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis to injury, less than halfway into their IPL campaign. Both overseas players had had a big impact, du Plessis in particular, having scored 206 runs in six matches, with two half centuries, and two 30s. An injury to Mitch Marsh, who impressed with the ball in the last game, did not help matters either.

All said and done, while most other teams have a settled look about them, Pune came into this match having fielded a different playing XI for the seventh straight game.

Their luck finally seemed to be turning though, when in the 10th over, Steve Smith (then on 41) was bowled off the edge by debutant Shivil Kaushik, but was recalled when it turned out to be a marginal no ball. Smith duly smacked the free hit for six, and thereon continued to bat like a man possessed. While his golfer like bat-swing when hitting down the ground stole the show, his running between wickets must also be complimented. His career strike rate hovers around the healthy 130 mark, but his innings on Friday was played at an uncharacteristic but welcome rate of 187.03. After he was dismissed in the final over, having scored his maiden T20 century, he had helped the RPS do what they had struggled to do all season: finish better after starting well. Ajinkya Rahane’s half century and MS Dhoni’s 30* off 18 balls at number four also contributed to the second highest team score this season. But it was soon to be eclipsed.

Pune’s consistently bad starts with the ball Consistency in a word you usually associate with positives, Dhoni said after the game. Unfortunately, the Supergiants have been consistently making the same mistakes, he pointed out. He lamented the lack of both control and penetration from the bowling, especially with the new ball. Once again, the Supergiants conceded more than 60 runs in the first six overs, and allowed the opposition to break the back of the chase. Despite having tried a number of opening combinations with the ball, the Supergiants have leaked runs like an Indian water tanker. In matches they have lost, they have conceded an average of 58.2 runs in the powerplay. While they have often clawed back towards the end, as they did in this game, it has been like trying to close the gates after the dam has burst.

The failure of the pacers with the new ball meant that once again, R Ashwin needed to play a defensive role, coming in to bowl within the first six overs. Ashwin’s bowling average this year stands at 77, which is quite unlike India’s leading spinner. While his economy rate is respectable, all the Gujarat Lions’ batters backed themselves while going after him, and succeeded more often than not.

One thing Dhoni has not tried is using Ashwin to open the bowling, thus giving him carte blanche to express himself. With the left handed Parthiv Patel opening the batting in the next match the Supergiants will play, it could be worth a shot.

Close, but not close enough: The last over of the match could well have been a microcosm of the innings. Thisara Perera started with a low full toss, that close relative of the perfect yorker, which birthday boy James Faulkner duly hit for four. An ungainly wide followed, which left the opponents sitting pretty. Two wickets off the next two balls - one courtesy of a direct hit that underlined a good fielding effort - meant that the end would be tight. But not tight enough.

The huge total Pune Supergiants had amassed and some late wickets meant that the Gujarat Lions were made to scramble a bit at the end. First M Ashwin bowled a wonderful 18th over, giving away only four runs. Then Ashok Dinda built on that, removing Dwayne Bravo and yorking Ravi Jadeja’s presence of mind, which led to his run out. Dinda almost out smarted Suresh Raina as well, when he followed him legside, but tried too hard, allowing him to sneak a boundary off his hips. And while the last over made matters appear closer than they were, the game was lost in the first six overs itself.

“We have tried quite a few things, but there are quite a few players left,” said Dhoni, slightly flippantly about the team combination. “But unless we crack the code soon, we will end up on the losing side.” The right combination has been like a Dan Brown riddle for the Dhoni-Fleming combine, one which will demand a degree of patience from fans and the team alike. To quote the same author, “Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.”