IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils would be keen to bounce back

Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Wednesday. Both Royals and Daredevils were outplayed in their opening games and will be keen to bounce back.

Daredevils had no answers to K.L. Rahul's fastest fifty against Kings XI Punjab, losing in Mohali by six wickets. Royals, on the other hand, could never cope with the bowling might of Sunrisers Hyderabad and went down by nine wickets in Hyderabad on Monday.

It was a rather forgettable opening for the hosts who are making a comeback in the tournament after serving a two-year suspension. Skipper Anjikya Rahane, too, would like to forget the outing where he failed with the bat, missed a sitter in slips and also gambled with batting only to see a complete rout of his team.

The comfort zone of playing at home may give the desired dose of much needed confidence but the cracks exposed against Sunrisers need to be addressed quickly. The batting order in absence of Steve Smith looked brittle, the overseas players including Ben Stokes were shaky against the spinners and the bowlers lost heart after the batsmen could put only 125 on the board.

Barring a 49 by Sanju Samson, none of other the batsmen showed any confidence in the middle. Mentor Shane Warne has a lot of work to do to lift his side. Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir looked good during his 55. He leads the side with aggression. The weather in the Pink City has been cloudy with a little bit of drizzle. "We were hit hard by the RCA ban. Despite financial crunch we maintained the wicket and the outfield. It is not a 200-run wicket but 160-170 would be achievable because ball would come nicely on to the bat. The bowlers would also have something for them," said veteran curator Taposh Chatterjee.