IPL: Pune win toss, elect to bat against Gujarat

Rajkot, April 14 (IANS) Rising Pune Supergiants won the toss and elected to bat first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against Gujarat Lions at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday.

Both teams are in their debut season in the IPL and registered impressive victories in their opening matches. Thursday's match will also see Pune captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gujarat skipper Suresh Raina clash against each other for the first time. 

The duo were teammates in former IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, who have been suspended from the tournament for the next two years along with inaugural edition winners Rajasthan Royals.

The teams:

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

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