A blinder of a knock by Yusuf Pathan couldn't see the Rajasthan Royals home in their opener in IPL-III against Mumbai Indians. The Shane Warne-led team will be looking for reversal of fortunes when they take on a formidable Delhi Daredevils tomorrow.

Warne will be hoping the top-order batsmen including the aggressive Graeme Smith fire against Daredevils. If the Royals, champions in 2008, get to bat first, the onus would be on the batsmen to run up a big score given the fact that Delhi has probably the most feared batting line-up in IPL-III.

The Royals skipper rated Yusuf Pathan's blistering hundred against Mumbai Indians as the best he has ever seen and would be expecting substantial contributions .

Yusuf's innings, which included eight sixes and nine fours, is the second-fastest ever in T20 cricket worldwide. Heaping praise on Pathan, Warne said to score such an innings when team was in dire straits was most impressive.

The heroics were in vain and now the big-hitting Baroda all-rounder needs to shift focus to the second encounter. He will also be expecting a bigger hand from the other batsmen.

Smith who was an important member of the triumphant team in 2008 needs to step up and provide a solid start if the Royals are to make an impact in the tournament. Swapnil Asnodkar, the other opener, who enjoyed success in the opening edition of IPL, will look to score big and quickly after a moderate run in South Africa last year.

After the Mumbai clash, Warne was unhappy over the dropped catches and missed chances of run-outs, apart from bowling of wides, by his team.

'We dropped a couple of catches, missed a few run-outs and bowled a few wide balls that proved costly,' he said. The legendary Aussie would be hoping the team improves on that front.

The bowlers, especially the fiery Shaun Tait, were a letdown yesterday and would need to improve a notch or two if the Royals aim to contain the strong Delhi line-up.

Delhi, on the other hand, came through after weathering the early storm against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday and the skipper Gautam Gambhir will look for improvement. The batting is by far the strongest in the tournament and if Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan get going, any bowling attack will find it tough. A B deVilliers, the skipper himself and Dinesh Karthik make it an imposing top five. If and when David Warner is available, the think-tank will have a tough task deciding whom to pick and leave out.

Gambhir harped on missing the services of pace spearhead Ashish Nehra and will be praying for his early return. The other bowlers like Pradeep Sangwan and YoMahesh stepped up but as the tournament progress, the Daredevils will need the experience of Nehra.