Rajasthan Royals favourites against Delhi Daredevils

Despite the 41-runs loss to Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday night, Rajasthan Royals would be the favourites in the first semi-finals of the Indian Premier League against Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai tomorrow.

Shane Warne-led Royals have by far been the most consistent and well-oiled unit on display in the IPL and finished the league stage atop the points table with 11 wins from 14 matches.The Royals were thrashed by the Daredevils in their first match in the tournament, but since then have been a transformed unit under Warne's leadership as almost every member of the squad has contributed to their team's victories.

The Daredevils, however, have the Royals to thank for qualifying for the knockout stage as their place in the semis was assured only after the Rajasthan team defeated Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller on Monday night.

Also read: Road to the IPL semi-finals: Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils

Warne had himself acknowledged in the early part of the IPL that the Royals are a young and inexperienced team, but he added the squad has the desire to win at all costs. The legendary Australian leg-spinner has been well supported by South African captain Graeme Smith and the support staff in Darren Barry and Jeremy Snape as the Royals have run through superior opposition with ease in the tournament thus far.

Warne's astute leadership in the IPL has led to speculations in cricketing circles that he could well may be the best skipper that Australia didn't have. And, that could well be true based on how Warne has made the best use of limited resources at his disposal and made his team a force to reckon with. Every player in the Royals team from proven internationals like Smith, Shane Watson, Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal to virtual unknowns like Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Siddarth Trivedi and Ravindra Jadeja have all chipped in to help their team's cause. And, even Munaf Patel who has in the past been accused of lack of speed around the field along with questions raised about his attitude, has surprised one and all by the commitment he has shown in the IPL throwing himself while fielding and for the most part bowling with probing accuracy picking up 11 wickets from 13 matches.

Smith, Asnodkar and Yusuf have all been devastating with the bat at the top of the order and Watson with his all-round performance has proved he can do wonders if he remains injury-free. Smith has played with maturity allowing Asnodkar and Yusuf to hit the big shots as he has focussed on ensuring the team doesn't lose too many early wicket. The South African captain is a naturally attacking batsman but in the IPL his strike rate of 121.99 reflects the type of knocks he has played. He is also one of the leading run-scorers in the IPL with 416 runs from 10 matches at an average of 52 and a highest score of 91. Asnodkar has scored 244 runs in seven innings but his strike rate of 127.08 doesn't quite reflect the damaging effect he has had on the opposition at the top of the order. Yusuf is the third-highest scorer for the Royals with 334 runs in 13 innings at an average of 27.83 and a strike rate of 182.51 and has also performed reasonably with the ball to finally break out of his younger brother (Irfan Pathan)'s shadow. Yusuf doesn't move his feet much and has a technique of his own, but when he hits the ball it usually goes a long distance.

Jadeja and N Patel have done well in the limited opportunities they have had in the middle, but Mohammad Kaif has been the biggest disappointment for the Royals. Kaif was the sole experienced Indian batsman in the line-up and would have hoped to do well in the IPL to stake a claim for a place in the national team but he has managed to score only 152 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 100.66. He would be hoping to make amends in the knockout stage as he is a vital cog in the Royals' wheel.

Watson has made a remarkable comeback to competitive cricket after yet another injury lay-off scoring 392 runs in 13 innings at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 149.04 apart from picking up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.29. Warne has described Watson as the "player of the IPL" on at least a couple of occasions, and the all-rounder has done justice to that tag with some memorable performances.

With the ball Warne, Tanvir and Trivedi have contributed immensely to the team's cause with the captain taking 17 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 7.93 while the young Trivedi has given a good account of himself capturing 12 wickets from 13 matches. But, the standout bowler for the Royals has ben Tanvir, whose 21 wickets have come in only 9 matches at a strike rate of 10 and economy rate of 5.97. And, the Royals would be hoping that these players continue their impressive performances for a couple more matches.

The Daredevils, on the other hand have relied mainly on theirr top three batsmen -- Gautam Gambhir, captain Virender Sehwag and Shikhar Dhawan to post competitive totals on the scoreboard. The Delhi team's middle-order has failed to impress in most of the matches and looks highly suspect despite the presence of international stars like AB De Villiers and Shoaib Malik, and the Royals would give themselves a good chance of bundling out the Daredevils for a low score if they get these three batsmen early in the innings. Gambhir has continued his good form over the last year and has added to his stature as the best Twenty20 batsman in India enroute to scoring 523 runs in 13 innings with a highest score of 86 at an average of 43.58 and a strike rate of 143.68.

Sehwag has scored his 403 runs at a strike rate of 186.57 and an average of 36.63. The Daredevils captain has played some terrific knocks in the IPL and his team would be hoping that he plays a typical Viru-like innings on the morrow. Dhawan, meanwhile, has used the big stage well as he has given ample proof of his talent as well as his ability to cope with pressure situations. The young Delhi lad has 335 runs from 13 innings at a strike rate of 118.37 to show for his efforts in the IPL thus far and it shouldn't be too long before Dhawan is seen in national colours.

The Daredevils bowling attack has been well-led by the retired Australian pace great Glenn McGrath who has featured in all his team's matches taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 6.31. McGrath has shown that a year away from the game hasn't done a thing to his bowling form and miserly nature with the ball. He has been well supported by V Yo Mahesh (14 wickets in 10 matches) and F Maharoof (12 wickets in 9 matches), but the elbow injury to Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif has dented the Daredevils' attack to an extent. Pradeep Sangwan, one of the stars for India in the team's successful under-19 campaign earlier this year has impressed in patches.

Amit Mishra has been the lone spinner in the Daredevils' ranks to make an impression as not only has he taken nine wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 6.31, but is also one of the three bowlers to take a hat-trick in the IPL. Mishra would be expected to perform an important role with the ball tomorrow and it would be interesting to watch how Sehwag utilises his spin trump card.

The Daredevils would have to play exceptionally well to book their berth in the final of the tournamnet, while Rajasthan Royals will have to shrug off the loss to Kings XI Punjab and focus on doing the basics right if they want to feature in the last match of the inaugural IPL season on Sunday night.