Furious Supergiants start stymied by Jadeja

Faf du Plessis is restless tonight. Trigger-happy and perennially on the move, his runs come primarily from two shots - the back away and swat through the offside, and the charge out of the crease. He treats his bat like a Bo staff: twirling and hurling it at the ball. With Kevin Pietersen at the other end, the adrenaline is on overdrive, and Rising Pune Supergiants make 57 in the Powerplay.

Gujarat Lions have three spinners. The Powerplay had three overs of spin - legspinner Pravin Tambe took Ajinkya Rahane's wicket in his first over but Shadab Jakati's slow left-arm went for 23 in two overs.

Then the middle-overs phase begins, a deceptively fast passage of play that offsets the aggressive batting in the first six overs. Tambe's sliders have greater protection; Ravindra Jadeja's round-arm darts don't need it. Five successive overs of spin cost Lions only 36 runs; time for James Faulkner, who concedes only seven in his first over. Jakati gives away two boundaries, but Dwayne Bravo returns to bowl his poison-tipped slower balls.

Pietersen swishes at air against the penultimate delivery of the 14th over. The next one, a dipping slower ball, is bottom-edged onto his stumps. Faulkner's next over yields eight and Supergiants are 121 for 2 in 15 overs.

Du Plessis, on 59 off 40, is looking to make his early bash count. He finds release by slapping Tambe's short one over cover and then going inside-out next ball. Eleven runs have already come in the 16th over when du Plessis runs down the pitch but is stumped. With four overs left, however, and MS Dhoni and Steve Smith at the crease, Supergiants are primed for a strong finish.

Raina's captaincy has been template-driven thus far - bring on spinner after spinner, build a cluster of fielders close on the off side, and have protection down the ground and on the leg side. He had stacked his side with spinners who can turn the ball away from right-hand batsmen, and Supergiants have no left-handers.

With two Lions spinners having gone for more than nine an over, Raina resists the temptation to turn to his go-to death bowlers Bravo and Faulkner, and asks Jadeja: "Tu daalega kya? [Will you have a bowl?]"

They take ages over the field. The fielders at third man and square leg are driven mad, having been made to run in and out of the circle. Raina is at short cover, with short third man, gully and deep point on the off side. Jadeja hurls one flat, short and wide, but Smith misses the cut. Raina runs up to Jadeja and there is more discussion. Jadeja wants Raina to move to short point and move deep point to sweeper. Jadeja explained why after the game.

"When we were playing in World Cup our plan to Smithy was to try and bowl outside the off stump because he loves to step out and play over midwicket," Jadeja said. "It was a plan to try and bowl outside the off stump as much as I could."

The next ball is fired full and wide, and Smith stretches in an attempt to clear the sweeper. Having lunged so much he fails to get enough power and is caught by Faulkner. Jadeja bowls four more balls in the over, giving only a single and a leg bye. Bravo follows with an assortment of slower balls and low full tosses, and Mitchell Marsh and Dhoni manage only five runs.

Bowling a spinner at the slog is perceived to be a risk, but Raina gives Jadeja the penultimate over. He fires them in quick, Marsh is bowled off the fourth ball, the next two balls are dots, Jadeja has 2 for 3 in his final two overs.

Supergiants have underachieved, scoring 29 between overs 17 and 20, and only because Dhoni took 20 off the final over from Bravo.

"The ball was holding after it became old," Jadeja said. "It was coming on to the bat better when the fast bowlers were bowling, so spin was a better option. Also, there were many right handers - Mahi bhai, Smith and Mitchell Marsh - and as the wicket was gripping a bit, I thought I could mix it up a bit."

Du Plessis acknowledged Raina's astute captaincy and said Supergiants were about ten runs short. "This ground is quite big and getting the pace off ball is always the key on a wicket like this," he said. "Bravo, Faulkner and if you have a spinner who can bowl towards the end it is a great tool to have as a captain. Suresh using his bowlers who were a bit slower [was a good move] as it took the pace off the ball."