Riding high on the performances of AB de Villiers and Muttiah Muralitharan, Royal Challengers Bangalore notched up a comprehensible 20-run win against Delhi Daredevils at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. Bangalore aren’t a one-man army then, writes The Times Of India.
"Playing their IPL opener sans the talismanic Chris Gayle after he failed the fitness test on Saturday afternoon, Bangalore rode on two powerful performances, one each with bat and ball, to stave off the Delhi challenge. For AB de Villiers, this is the second season with Bangalore, but for Muthiah Muralitharan this was the first. But by the end of the evening, he had become one of Bangalore’s own as he spun a web around the Delhi batsmen to ensure that Bangalore defended their handy 157 with some ease. That total, in itself was owed to a blistering, unbeaten 64 (42b, 6x4, 2x6) from De Villiers, who initially held the innings together before giving it the thrust towards the end."
Meanwhile Hindustan Times writes that the age appears to have left little impression on Muralitharan's skills and, more importantly, his enthusiasm. "He looked his usual self as the batsmen struggled to find way around his guile, and perished in the process. And the wickets -- he bagged three on Saturday -- still seem to give him the same high as, say, when he had just started out. The most impressive part however was his willingness to throw himself around to stop every possible run.
“He's a legend of the game. He has always been a wicket-taker and he's still the same. Besides, he's a great human being and a great character. He has a lot to offer both as a player and as a human that he makes this team a better, cohesive unit,” said De Villiers.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja produced an all-round performance to help defending champions Chennai Super Kings register their first win in the tournament, defeating Deccan Chargers by 74 runs , writes Indian Express.
"Coming at a crucial juncture, Jadeja first hit a quickfire 29-ball 48 and then scalped five wickets for 16 to put Chennai back to winning ways after they lost the tournament opener against Mumbai Indians by eight wickets. After Jadeja's show with the bat, West Indian Dwayne Bravo played a special unbeaten knock of 18-ball 43 towards the end to propel Chennai to an imposing 193 for six at Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here," adds the paper.