Tough Devils' test awaits Royal Challengers

Nothing tastes sweeter than victory, especially when it is long overdue. And no one could know it better than the Royal Challengers Bangalore or for that matter their latest opponents Delhi Daredevils.

Both teams have toiled hard and suffered agonising losses before breaking a spell of defeats. The battle between them on Sunday will, thus, be of intensity and to keep their respective juggernauts rolling.

The inconsistent ways of RCB took them to three straight defeats at home and a bottom place in the league. But they showed a burning desire for victory with a dominating win over table toppers Rajasthan Royals in their own backyard. Coming into this contest, RCB will be a unit on path of resurgence.

Like RCB, Daredevils’ journey has been one of breaking deadlocks. It took them 11 games, stretching from last year, to register a win in IPL and 10 games to win at home. Their victory over Mumbai Indians must have injected a new life in their charge but RCB would be no less inspired to put up another winning performance.

What was most heartening for the RCB was the way their bowlers tamed the might of Royals’ batting. Criticised for underperformance, the bowlers rose to the occasion, led by World Cup hero Mitchell Starc. The left-arm pacer put up a stellar show in not only containing the runs but taking crucial wickets as well. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Iqbal Abdulla were smartly used by Virat Kohli on a pitch which was a bit slow. Kohli himself was at his aggressive best in setting attacking fields, promoting himself again to the top of the order and bringing in AB De Villiers at No 3, and staying till the end of the chase.

Deservedly, Starc rated their nine-wicket victory a near “complete performance” in this edition. “It is the win we needed. It is nice to be only one down and Virat doing what he does best in taking us home,” he said.

The best feature of the RCB’s victory was the way their bowlers consistently picked wickets.

“They (Royals) were obviously a great side, so to keep them to 130, I think the bowling group did a great job. It was great to see us taking wickets throughout the innings, not just at the start or the end , which obviously stemmed the flow of runs.”

Against Daredevils, they will need to sustain their spirited show. Daredevils’ batting is finally showing sparks with young Shreyas Iyer inspiring confidence with his fluent strokeplay at the top. While Mayank Agarwal needs to be consistent, captain JP Duminy has anchored the middle-order admirably. One, though, expects a bit more from Yuvraj Singh.

Daredevils’ bowling has been headlined by two leg-spinners Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra, who have been wonderfully complementing each other. They have brought the variety to the attack and been phenomenal in striking at crucial stages. With Nathan Coulter-Nile taking the charge with the new ball, Daredevils have the attack to trouble the best batsmen once they get their combination right.

With both teams desperate for win, it will all come down to execution on the morrow.