Bottom-placed Bangalore seek momentum

Match facts

Wednesday April 30, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

Both teams are coming off defeats in their previous games, which makes Wednesday's encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla all the more interesting. Bangalore Royal Challengers missed a golden opportunity to score a win in front of their home crowd on Monday, choking in the face of some disciplined bowling by the Chennai Super Kings. That defeat, their third in four games, leaves them at the bottom of the points table but they are a much better team than their form suggests. Delhi, on the other hand, came apart against an inspired Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, where their middle order was tested for the first time and Mohammad Asif and Glenn McGrath were unusually subdued. Back on home ground, Delhi should start as favourites.

Watch out for ...

... Virender Sehwag taking on Dale Steyn. Sehwag took him apart during the first Test against South Africa in Chennai recently, where his early onslaught set the tone for his record-breaking 319. Ross Taylor, if he plays, facing Daniel Vettori should also make for an interesting battle of New Zealanders, as both would like to sign off their IPL campaigns in style.

Team news

Vettori plays his final game of the IPL before heading to England and his selection seems a certainty. He could replace Farveez Maharoof, who had a rare bad day in Mohali, leaking 31 off three overs. Delhi would also welcome AB de Villiers' arrival from South Africa and his inclusion could see Shoaib Malik making way.

Delhi Daredevils (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Manoj Tiwary, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Vijaykumar Yomahesh, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Bangalore will check on the fitness of Anil Kumble, who missed the previous game. Misbah-ul-Haq, a reputed Twenty20 player, would be raring to get a game and could come in place of Jacques Kallis, whose appeared uncharacteristically flat in all four games. B Akhil pulled up with an injury against Chennai which leaves the slot open for another seamer, or a spinner in KP Appanna.

Bangalore Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Ross Taylor 4 Bharath Chipli, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 KP Appanna.

Delhi have figured in two nine-wicket wins. Clearly, they are a dangerous side when set a target.

Quotes

"This is a long tournament and I think the defeat actually helped us identify certain grey areas and address those issues."
Rajat Bhatia, the Delhi allrounder, thinks the defeat against Punjab could be a blessing in disguise.

"We are lagging behind in the tournament and every match from now on is important for us. At this stage, we just cannot afford to make a mistake."
Rahul Dravid, the Bangalore captain, demands improvement.