A struggling Rajasthan Royals will look to resuscitate its title defence while a rampaging Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue its unbeaten run when the two sides lock horns in the Indian Premier League .We are a little over a week into the 2009 IPL, but Rajasthan Royals are heading towards the last-chance saloon.
Shane Warne’s side defied the odds to seal a thrilling victory in the 2008 IPL, but the defence of their crown has not gone as planned and they face the unbeaten Delhi Daredevils at Centurion on Tuesday aware that defeat will leave them in real trouble.
The Royals have three points to their name, with their only success coming courtesy of a Super Over contest with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rajasthan have not looked too far off the pace with the ball, Kamran Khan has bowled with real venom, Dimitri Mascarenhas with guile and Warne is again defying old Father Time, but they have come up well short with the bat. The Delhi Daredevils, who have won all three of their games thus far, have a solid batting line-up led by captain Virender Sehwag , India's Gautam Gambhir and backed up by the in-form duo of South Africa's AB de Villiers and Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan .
If one has failed in the tournament thus far, then another has managed to get a big score. De Villiers did so with an unbeaten century against the Chennai Super Kings on Friday, followed by Dilshan's 67 not out against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
Throw in Daniel Vettori's accuracy and guile with the ball -- he has six wickets from the three games -- and the Rajasthan Royals will have a tough job