Royal Challengers Bangalore kicked off their 2012 Indian Premier League campaign with a 20-run victory over the Delhi Daredevils.
South African AB de Villiers starred with the bat as he struck an unbeaten 64 in a total of 157 for eight, before Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan claimed three for 25 as the capital franchise were limited to 137 in reply.
Australian opener Andrew McDonald set Bangalore on the winning path with 30 off 19 balls, including four fours and two sixes, before he was caught by Doug Bracewell off the bowling of South African Morne Morkel.
De Villiers made the key contribution though, with his tally coming off 42 balls and featuring six fours and two sixes, while Vinay Kumar (18) added some valuable late runs too. Bracewell finished as the pick of Delhi’s attack with three for 32.
Their reply got off to a bad start when Virender Sehwag was bowled for a golden duck by India team-mate Zaheer Khan, but Aaron Finch (25) and Naman Ojha (33) kept the score ticking along before both fell victim to Muralitharan.
Irfan Pathan added 24 before he was run out, but the Daredevils could not keep pace with the Challengers’ scoring and were 20 runs short after their allotted overs.
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