Bangalore: First AB de Villiers (64) came up good with the bat and later Muttiah Mralitharan (3 for 25) spinned a web around Delhi Daredevils batsmen to give Royal Challengers Bangalore a comprehensive 20 runs victory in their opening match of IPL here on Saturday.

However man-of-the-match AB de Villiers said that it were the bowlers and the fielders who won the match for RCB. "Muttiah Muralitharan was superb. He should have got the man-of-the-match award," said de Villeirs, adding, "The bowlers won the game for us. It was a decent total. Our bowlers and fielders turned it around for us," De Villiers told reporters at post-match press conference.

In all praise for Sri Lankan spin wizard Muralitharan, de Villeirs said that Murali is a legend of the game and a wicket-taker. "The wickets he picked up changed the momentum for Delhi. he is not only a good bowler, he is even a better human being. His presence brings a lot od positives into the team. He is a wonderful person," he said.

Terming the pitch to be ideal for batting, De Villiers said that they lost too many wickets early in the innings and that did not help their cause. He informed that dashing batsmen Chris Gayle wasn't 100 per cent fit and will be seen in action by the next match. "He will be ready for the next match and probably for the whole Indian Premier League (IPL) season," he added.