Rajasthan Royals, who have seeemed a pale shadow of themselves, compared to last year, will look to start their title campaign against Delhi Daredevils.
A struggling Rajasthan Royals will look to resuscitate their title defence while a rampaging Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue their unbeaten run when the two sides lock horns in an Indian Premier League encounter here on Tuesday.
The Virender Sehwag-led Delhi team is gradually emerging as one of the strongest title contenders and is comfortably second in the points tally after winning all its three matches played so far.
On the other hand, Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals has managed three points by virtue of the tied match against Kolkata Knight Riders which they won in the 'Super Over' and are languishing seventh in the table.
The Delhi Daredevils' formidable batting line-up, which managed 189 for 5 - the highest score of the tournament so far - against last year's runner-up Chennai Super Kings in their second outing, has made them a force to reckon with.
Their explosive opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, followed by the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored a gutsy 67 to guide the team to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, will be a worry for Rajasthan bowlers.
In-form all-rounder AB de Villiers and Mithun Manhas have also proved themselves in trying moments and the side is seemingly poised for chasing down stiff targets.
In the bowling department, Dutch-born Australian left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes, along with India discard Ashish Nehra, is showing some ominous penetration power and getting early breakthroughs.
The new-ball pair is finding support from the spin duo of Amit Mishra and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, who is drawing from his vast experience to make Delhi's bowling formidable.
In contrast, Rajasthan have seemed like a pale shadow of the winning unit they were last season.
Young paceman Kamran Khan, who scalped two wickets for 15 runs for a losing cause in Sunday's match against Kings XI Punjab, and speedster Munaf Patel are surely doing their bit but the batting has failed to back their consistent effort.
The team will be desperate for some fireworks from South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, who is yet to make any notable contribution.
The middle-order consisting Australian Rob Quiney and British Dimitri Mascarenhas will also have to strike form for the side to climb up in the points ladder.
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