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The Delhi Daredevils finally got out of their poor run of form with a convincing win by 17 runs over a red hot Royal Challengers Bangalore team at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in the early kick-off on Thursday. While the Daredevils had started this year's IPL strongly with two wins, their recent run of three consecutive losses was turning out to be a rather prolonged and unwelcome blip. The home side on the other hand, started with a loss in their first match but came back very strongly by winning their last 4 fixtures. Delhi batted first and were off to a flier courtesy David Warner's power hitting. AB de Villiers and debutant Kedar Jadhav then added the finishing touch as Delhi finished at a challenging score of 183 for the loss of 4 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In reply the Royal Challengers Bangalore faltered in their chase and ended up 17 runs short.

It was a day when everything clicked for the Delhi side - batting, bowling and fielding - as they got the better of Anil Kumble's men in their own backyard. The home side too aided the visitors cause with a shoddy display when chasing the target. Irresponsible shots and some lacklustre running between the wickets were the key ingredients that made the outcome of the match all but a formality.

Anil Kumble's side came into this game looking akin to a well oiled machine with all the parts performing at their optimal level. Leading the pack was Jacques Kallis, the orange cap holder, whose class is never in doubt, but his heavy run scoring in the shortest form of the game has taken most by surprise. At the other end, the Delhi Daredevils have been struggling to cope with the absence of captain Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, the pair, who have returned from treatment in Sri Lanka continue to be on the injured list and were unavailable today as well. The troubles for the visiting side were accentuated by the woeful form of their star overseas players in Tillakratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers.

The toss was won by Anil Kumble, who had no hesitation in asking stand-in Delhi skipper Dinesh Karthik to take first strike. It promised to be an absorbing first half of the match with the explosive duo of Virender Sehwag and David Warner up against Dale Steyn & Co. It was imperative for Delhi to put up a very good score to give their under fire bowlers some leeway against the visitors' batting line up that is yet to put a foot wrong in the tournament.

Delhi made a slew of changes in their line-up in a bid to revive their fortunes. Andrew McDonald, Kedar Jadhav and Pradeep Sangwan came in for Moises Henriques, Sarabjit Ladda and Yogesh Nagar while Tillakaratne Dilshan sat out for the second consecutive match. Bangalore though, retained the winning combo from the last match and started today's encounter in the partisan stadium as clear favourites.

Delhi started in ominous fashion as David Warner went berserk right from the word go. He had the rub off the green going his way too as first Robin Uthappa and then Mark Boucher missed very difficult half-chances offered by the diminutive Australian. At the end of three overs, Delhi were rattling along and were perched at 39 for no loss.

Warner's blitz was brought to an end by a slower ball from Dale Steyn and the miscued shot was taken easily by R Vinay Kumar at long off. The Australian though, had played his part in getting the visitors off to a flier by smashing 33 runs from a mere 14 balls. AB de Villiers was the next man in for Delhi with an aim to consolidate the good start.

The Daredevils were in for a second setback soon when big gun Virender Sehwag skied one to Virat Kohli as he tried to get after R Vinay Kumar from the first ball itself. There was a sense of déjà vu for the Daredevils' faithful as Delhi - not for the first time this year - looked to spurn yet another great start. However, Dinesh Karthik and De Villiers steadied the innings and took the score to 95 for 2 in 10 overs. The platform was well and truly in place for the visitors to cash on in the last 10 overs.

The Daredevils got a big jolt though when captain Dinesh Karthik got out in the 12th over in rather unfortunate circumstances to leave Delhi at 101 for 3. AB de Villiers' straight drive brushed Dale Steyn's fingertips and crashed onto the stumps with Karthik well short of the bowling crease.

Kedar Jadhav stepped in next and alongwith De Villiers took Delhi to a position of strength. With 5 overs to go Delhi were well placed at 128 for 3 and looked set to launch the fireworks. Their fans's expectations were in for a brief tumble though as AB de Villiers got run out for a well made 45 runs with nearly 4 overs to go. Andrew McDonald - the canny Australian all rounder - stepped in with clear instructions to provide the lusty hits and take Delhi to a challenging score.

Debutant Kedar Jadhav's trial by fire turned out to be a great affair as he completed his 50 in a mere 29 balls. Along with some big hits from McDonald, Jadhav's unorthodox batting took the Delhi Daredevils to a commendable total of 183 for 4 in their allotted 20 overs. It was now over to the visitors' bowlers to put the reins on the Bangalore batsmen, who have been in fine form in the tournament so far.

The Royal Challengers started in rather sedate fashion, as has been the norm in all their previous matches. The ‘high premium on wickets' by the home side has been one of their binding beliefs in this year's IPL and they seemed to continue with the same raison d'être. Manish Pandey, however tried to break free with a certain degree of luck and got the boundaries to keep the home side in the hunt. After 5 overs, Bangalore had reached 37 for no loss and needed to get a move on as the asking rate crept to nearly 10 runs per over.

Amit Mishra gave his side the first breakthrough as he bagged the marquee wicket of Jacques Kallis with a clever piece of bowling. Kallis charged down the wicket but failed to read the googly and got castled. At this stage the home side needed 113 runs in a little under 11 overs. Robin Uthappa was the next man in for the Royal Challengers and started in rather audacious fashion - a reverse sweep for four. Much hinged on Uthappa to get the big hits going and take the Challengers home.

At the other end, Manish Pandey was cleaned up by Andrew McDonald in the next over itself after a brief cameo of 39 runs from 29 balls. The situation went from bad to worse for the Royal Challengers as first Rahul Dravid ran himself out and then Robin Uthappa tried the reverse sweep once too often and top edged one to Dinesh Karthik off the bowling of Amit Mishra. At this stage 90 runs were required from the last 8 overs.

The Royal Challengers' middle order found themselves in a tight situation once again in this year's IPL, and with such little time spent out in the middle needed to perform from the get go. Amit Mishra, on the other hand was in his elements as his flight and well disguised googlies were proving to be a real handful. The last 6 overs required the home side to score 72 runs to earn what seemed an improbable victory.

Eoin Morgan ran himself out with the run rate chartering an exponential path and with his dismissal all hopes of a comeback for the home side vanished into thin air. Virat Kohli fought bravely from one end, but was fast running out of partners. AB de Villiers produced a moment of magic when he plucked out a full blooded shot from Praveen Kumar from thin air at the long-on boundary, easily a contender for catch of the tournament. It was the last notable piece of action in the match as the home side ended up 17 runs short in their chase.

The win ends finally brings to an end Delhi's woeful run, and with the impending return of Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, things can only get better for the Daredevils. They head home for a clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders on the 28th of March. Bangalore, on the other hand had a bad day at the office. Anil Kumble has a task pn his hands as today's match was a clear indication of the over reliance on the explosive top order - Kallis, Pandey and Uthappa - and the lack of match practice for the middle order. Bangalore have a few days off and will surely look at getting some practice games in before they head to Chennai to meet the Super Kings on the 31st.

Mini Scorecard:
Delhi Daredevils: 183/4 (20 overs)
Kedar Jadhav 50 (29)          R Vinay Kumar 1-29
AB de Villiers 45 (35)           Dale Steyn 1-42

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 166/9 (20 overs)
Manish Pandey 39 (29)         Amit Mishra 2-23
Virat Kohli 38 (23)*               Andrew McDonald 2-42

Also read: Match Preview: Rajasthan Royals vs. Deccan Chargers

File Photograph Copyright: BwanaRSA

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