But for AB de Villiers' brilliance on Sunday, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wouldn't have been in a position to overhaul the target set by the Deccan Chaargers, who had capitalised on some loose bowling to score a massive 181. The Royal Challengers had dropped the off-colour Vinay Kumar, who they bought for a staggering $1 million at the auction, and skipper Daniel Vettori, yet the bowling failed to impress.

It has not been a one-off occurrence. Despite the presence of big names, the RCB bowlers have flattered to deceive by conceding over 180 runs in five of their 11 games so far.

Letting it go
Also, it isn't often that a team fails to defend over 200 in a T20 game. RCB managed even that, as they allowed the Super Kings to overhaul 205 in Chennai at the start of the tournament.

"Our bowling and fielding are areas we have to keep an eye on. In a tournament like this, it is important that all the departments click," said Tillakaratne Dilshan, the team's opening batsman.

Against the Chargers, new recruit Prasanth Parameswaran and Abhimanyu Mithun continued to spray the ball around, while left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad was also easy picking. Muttiah Muralitharan was the only bowler who managed to keep things under control though he, too, went wicketless.

The Sri Lankan is expected to lead the attack in the event of Zaheer Khan's continuing struggle this season. Zaheer has managed just nine scalps in 11 games at an average of 34. To add to the woes, he has been conceding runs close to eight an over. The fact that he is RCB's top wicket-taker this year highlights the problem.

While Dilshan admitted to Zaheer's lack of form, he hoped the India international would turn things around swiftly. "I am sure he will come back very strongly."(Inputs by Firoz Mirza)