Chasing a small score of 150, the Daredevils made several puzzling batting order decisions, holding their two best batsmen – JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh – back for way too long, which then proved to be a major factor in them falling short by one run.
The only highlight of that chase was Albie Morkel, who would have almost single-handedly won the Daredevils the game had his shot to wide long-off in the final delivery of the match bounced a touch over the rope rather than just inside.
But then, the Delhi Daredevils should never have been in such a desperate position in the first place in what was an easy enough chase, and Duminy and coach Gary Kirsten will hope their team have learnt from their mistakes.
"When you go out and perform well against the Chennai Super Kings, it gives you confidence," said Delhi Daredevils leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who was impressive against CSK. "We batted and bowled well.
"Unfortunately the result was not in our favour. But we are playing the next game at home and we have confidence (of doing well). T20 is unpredictable but we will do our best to win and like I said before, our combination is good. It is just a matter of clicking."
The Rajasthan Royals certainly clicked better in their first outing – against the powerful Kings XI Punjab. Put into bat on a green-as-they-come wicket, RR did pretty well to get past 160, a total they defended pretty easily in the end as KXIP faltered with some strange batting order decisions of their own.
James Faulkner was the star of the match with a really good all-round show, scoring a quickfire 46, before taking three wickets in the chase. The other Aussie Steven Smith played pretty well for his 33, while also captaining his side to perfection in the absence of Shane Watson.
It remains to be seen if Watson will be fit enough to take the field on Saturday, but the Rajasthan Royals can take comfort in the fact that they have in Smith an equally capable, if not better, captain.
Even if the Daredevils are playing at home, the Royals will start the game as favourites, and it will be up to DD to put on a performance worth standing up for while also sending a message across to the rest of the IPL that they are in it to win it and not just to make up the numbers.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Match Report HERE
DD vs RR is set to begin at 4 pm IST (11.30 am BST, 6.30 am ET) with live coverage in India on Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Kix and Sony Aath. Viewers in India can also catch the IPL 2015 Match 6 live on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Audience in the UK and Europe can catch the match live on Sky Sports 3, while the match will also be live streamed on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports. Viewers in the US can turn on ESPN to catch Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals, while the live stream option is on ESPN Cricket.
Viewers watching the IPL 2015 match across the world can catch it live on Cricketgateway. Audience in the Middle East can catch the match live on OSN and OSN Play.
