Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils – IPL 5 – Match Preview
The fifth game of the this season’s Indian Premier League pits last year’s finalist Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Delhi Daredevils at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, today, April 7, 2012.
It will be the first outing for the Challengers in this competition, who will be hoping to kick-start their campaign on a winning note. They remain among the giants of the tournament, possessing some of cricket’s most exciting talents.
Despite having both departments covered with household names, the show stealers arguably remain their batters – and the foremost being West Indies dynamite Chris Gayle. After being axed from the national team duties, the left-hander joined the Bangalore outfit last season and turned around the franchise’s fortune with some whirlwind knocks, including a century in his first game against his previous IPL side – Kolkata Knight Riders.
He then went onto amass over 600 runs in 12 games – winning the Orange Cap for the most runs scored in the tournament, along with five Player of the Match awards. A year has passed and Gayle still finds himself out of contention for the national side (despite reaching an agreement recently) but has had little problem in impressing potential T20 suitors across the globe.
He was instantly retained by the Challengers for the fifth installment and will be keen to repay their faith and lit the stadiums with his typical fiery displays. His partner in crime will surely be India’s most promising player Virat Kohli.
The right-hander is in a form of his life, scoring massive tons against all top oppositions and remaining the only bright spot for the Men In Blue in an otherwise disappointing 12 months. Kohli’s rise in stature will further increase an already huge fan base, and will be the team’s most bankable domestic player.
Apart from the dynamic duo, the Challengers have another reliable campaigner in AB de Villiers, who is coming back from an excellent stint with his international team, which dismantled New Zealand.
In the bowling department, they have the dependable services of their skipper Daniel Vettori, along with the added experience of Zaheer Khan – India’s premier pacer. With Tillakaratne Dilshan missing (playing against England in the 2nd Test ), the final overseas spot will most likely be taken by Muttiah Muralitharan.
The spin wizard will add spark to their attack and could be one of the shrewd signings of the season, following his move from the now defunct Kochi franchise.
Their opponents, Delhi Daredevils, started their campaign with a confident win over Kolkata Knight Riders after the match was reduced to a 12-over affair. The victory has surely pleased skipper Virender Sehwag, who praised his bowlers for keeping the Knight Riders at bay.
Despite missing the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen and David Warner, the team managed to make full use of their resources with South African pairing of Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe, along with Umesh Yadav, doing the damage with the ball before Sehwag and Aaron Finch’s solid batting start was capitalized upon by Irfan Pathan, who registered a quick-fire unbeaten 42 – earning his side an important first win. Their combination is expected to remain the same.
Both sides played a closely fought encounter last season, which the Challengers won by 3 wickets and 3 balls to spare. However, that match was played at Delhi.
The pitch at Chennai witnessed some towering scores last season so one expects another batsman friendly strip on offer.
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