IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils look to get back to winning ways

JAIPUR: After a long hiatus, Rajasthan Royals are back where they belong - the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
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Royals have always had a strong fan base here and the supporters are certain to be back on Wednesday evening, looking forward to seeing their favourite team locking horns with Delhi Daredevils in an IPL fixture at the SMS. A need for introspection would have gripped Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir, captains of both sides, after early setbacks.
Playing under new captains, both Royals and Daredevils crashed to defeats in their first game.
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Royals, who had a forgettable outing against Sunrisers on Monday evening, will have to regroup quickly. And with Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klassen and skipper Rahane in the ranks, Royals are all set to showcase their firepower. That would help them recover from the low of losing Steve Smith to the ball tampering scandal. Royals have received an additional boost with New Zealand leggie Ish Sodhi replacing injured Afghanistan bowler Zahir Khan.
The presence of Jos Buttler lends more balance in the middle but Stokes holds the key. He was the star for Rising Pune Supergiant last season, with his performance taking them through to the playoffs.
Delhi, despite having a decent total of 166 against Kings XI Punjab, found themselves losing to Punjab by six wickets in their opening match on Sunday.
But Daredevils head coach Ricky Ponting wouldn’t be too perturbed as he believes that the “fresh group” of players have the potential to carry forward the team. Daredevils do pack a punch with the talented trio of Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris and Rishabh Pant along with Glenn Maxwell and Colin Munro.
In the bowling department, a mix of wily spinners and lethal pacers provides great balance for the line-up. The services of the South African spearhead, Kagiso Rabada, will be missed as an unfortunate injury has ruled him out of the upcoming season. But the likes of Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami and Chris Morris will make sure Daredevils don’t miss him too much.