IPL Results 2016: Lions vs. Supergiants Score, Revised Table and Schedule

Gujarat Lions beat Rising Pune Supergiants by seven wickets in the 2016 Indian Premier League on Thursday.

The Supergiants batted first and racked up an impressive total of 163 for five thanks to Faf du Plessis' 69, Kevin Pietersen's 37 and a late cameo from MS Dhoni that saw him hit 20 in the final over.

Brendon McCullum (49) and Aaron Finch (50) provided the perfect platform for the Lions to chase down the score, and they did just that with 12 balls remaining.

Here's a look at the latest standings:

Pos	Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Net RR	Pts
1	Gujarat Lions	2	2	0	0	0	+1.040	4
2	Royal Challengers Bangalore	1	1	0	0	0	+2.250	2
3	Kolkata Knight Riders	2	1	1	0	0	+1.069	2
4	Rising Pune Supergiants	2	1	1	0	0	+0.837	2
5	Mumbai Indians	2	1	1	0	0	-1.139	2
6	Kings XI Punjab	1	0	1	0	0	-1.120	0
7	Delhi Daredevils	1	0	1	0	0	-2.088	0
8	Sunrisers Hyderabad	1	0	1	0	0	-2.250	0

Here are the upcoming fixtures:

Date	Time (BST/IST)	Fixture	Venue
April 15	3:30 p.m/8 p.m.	Delhi Daredevils vs. Kings XI Punjab	Delhi
April 16	11:30 a.m/4 p.m.	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders	Hyderabad
April 16	3:30 p.m/8 p.m.	Mumbai Indians vs. Gujarat Lions	Mumbai
April 17	11:30 a.m./4 p.m.	Kings XI Punjab vs. Rising Pune Supergiants	Mohali
April 17	3:30 p.m/8 p.m.	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Delhi Daredevils	Bengaluru
April 18	3:30 p.m/8 p.m.	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Mumbai Indians	Hyderabad

Gujarat Lions vs. Rising Pune Supergiants

Gujarat Lions: 164/3 (Finch 50, McCullum 49) beat Supergiants: 163/5 (Du Plessis 69, Pietersen 37)

The Supergiants got off to an electric start as Ajinkya Rahane hit 21 off 17 balls including four fours, and his dismissal from an lbw in the fourth over by Pravin Tambe saw Pietersen enter the fray.

He and Du Plessis proceeded to pile on the runs at an impressive rate, the latter in particular standing out with an exceptional knock that featured four sixes and five fours, and by the end of the 13th over, they were 111 for one.

As cricket coach Trent Woodhill noted, the partnership were a joy to watch:

However, Pietersen was deceived by a dipping delivery from Dwayne Bravo and deflected the ball onto his own stumps.

From there, the Supergiant's strike rate slowed down significantly, as ESPN Cricinfo noted:

Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh managed just 11 runs between them, and Du Plessis was eventually stumped by some quick thinking from Dinesh Karthik.

Dhoni's late appearance proved highly successful, though, and he got the better of Bravo in the final over, including two powerful efforts to the boundary, as former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar noted:

Then came the Lions' chase as they sought to reel in their opponents.

At the top of the order, starting batsmen McCullum and Finch wasted little time. By the end of the sixth over—a particularly poor one for Murugan Ashwin, as Finch hit him for four powerful fours—the Lions were well on their way to making a successful chase:

Their task was made easier by further slack bowling, as they were gifted 15 extras during the match.

Ashwin eventually saw Finch caught by a mishit sweep after he'd hit a half century, but McCullum continued to plug away alongside Suresh Raina and enjoyed some good fortune, as IPL Sports captured:

The Lions reached 120 for one before McCullum was sent packing just short of 50, but Raina hit 24 in as many balls to keep them steadily picking up runs.

A late flourish from Bravo saw him rack up 22 in just 10 balls in a comfortable finish.

The Lions have now won both of their matches thus far in the IPL and are already looking like possible contenders for the trophy. As for Rising Pune, they'll look on the game as a missed opportunity after their excellent start.