Shane Warne

Jaipur: A confident Rajasthan Royals will have revenge on their minds when they take on Delhi DareDevils in the Indian Premier League match at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday.

It was Delhi DareDevils who had beaten Rajasthan Royals in their first match and the comprehensive defeat had strengthened the belief that Royals were a weak team.

But much water has flown under the bridge since and Shane Warne’s men are now the table toppers with 12 points from a 6-2 win-loss record.

With a comprehensive eight wicket victory over Deccan Chargers, the hosts are high on confidence and it is no surprise that skipper Warne has given a war cry asking for revenge.

Warne himself concedes that the defeat in the first match was shocking but it also helped in introspection and to work out new strategies. Since then it has been a dream run for the Royals except their loss against Mumbai Indians.

“Yes, we lost to them convincingly but much has happened thereafter. We have come a long way. It is another big day for us. One more great effort and we have half foot in the door to semi-final. Delhi is under a must win situation so they might be under some pressure. We are now looking for a revenge.

“We are not taking things lightly. Our success has raised expectations but we want to continue in the same fashion. playing at home ground gives the feeling that we are in our own fortress,” he added.

The only matter of concern is injuries of Dimitri Mascarenhas and in-form diminutive opener Swapnil Asnodkar.

“We have a big game against Delhi. A victory would help us entrench our self at the top but a defeat might see few teams tie up,” Warne said.

The coach-cum-skipper added he had plans for Virender Sehwag as well as fast bowler Glenn McGrath when they take on Delhi DareDevils in their next IPL match. “We have certain plans for Sehwag and also for McGrath. Veeru is a dangerous player and he tends to play more in point and cover region and we want to work out something on it.

“McGrath is still the best fast bowler in world in my opinion. We will assign someone the task of taking him. He still is a miser. Not more than 29 runs have been taken off him. We hope to take 30 tomorrow off him,” Warne said.

The hosts might sit relaxed. Making full use of the home conditions they also have the arsenal to fire. Seamers Sohail Tanveer, Shane Watson, Munaf Patel and Sidharth Trivedi have done a decent job and Warne is looking as good as ever.

The part time bowlers in Yousuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja have also delivered when required. This has given Warne more options and he can dare put opposition in to bat.

The batting has a healthy look too. Pathan is relishing his new role and giving his best, Graeme Smith, Watson and Jadeja too are in good form. The biggest strength is that they have combined well as a team.

“I trust my players and the intensity is there. After the first match we have responded well as a group. Even at the time of auction I was in constant touch. We wanted a team with 2-3 options for each slot. Touch wood that the strategy has paid off till now,” Warne said.

Showing great satisfaction over his journey till now in IPL, Warne said he was feeling satisfied and not getting the Australian captaincy was not such a big issue.

“I have led my country in one-day match and was also vice-captain. I was fortunate to have played under some great captains like Mark Taylor, Alan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting

“Computers make things complicated. I use brains,” he said having a dig again at John Buchanan, the former Australian coach with whom he had a strained relationship.

Delhi DareDevils have lost a few close matches. They are certainly better than what they are looking in points table at present.

Captain Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan are in good form but AB De Villiers and Pakistani skipper Shoaib Malik are yet to come in with a big contribution. (PTI)