Delhi DareDevils’ Daniel Vettori during practice at the Kotla on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi: Stung by reverses in their last outings, two wounded sides — Delhi DareDevils and Bangalore Royal Challengers — clash in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.

With Virender Sehwag at the helm, Delhi had crushed Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers before Kings XI Punjab snapped their winning streak on Sunday.

And if Delhi lost momentum with the defeat, Rahul Dravid’s men are yet to find it. After the plastering by Brendon McCullum in the opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders, the five-wicket win against the winless Mumbai Indians brought back the smiles, which vanished again with back-to-back losses to Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.

When they take the field on Wednesday, the Challengers would go all out to avert a similar heartbreak, while the hosts would try to shrug off their last-match defeat and bounce back.

Dravid said his side’s back is against the wall and the team has no other way but to fight back.

“We are lagging behind in the tournament and every match from now on is important for us. At this stage, we just cannot afford to make a mistake,” Dravid said.

The DareDevils have played three matches so far, winning two and losing one to occupy fourth place on the chart with four points, while the Bangalore side, with three defeats and a lone win so far, languish in seventh place in the eight-team event with just two points against their name.

South African speed merchant Dale Steyn has added firepower to the Bangalore attack and the pacer would be posing uncomfortable questions with his mid-140 kmph snorters.

Delhi, however, looked far from worried and in fact their allrounder, Rajat Bhatia, went on to claim that the defeat of the last match may, in fact, prove a blessing in disguise.

Unlike most of the teams in the fray, Delhi will not be banking on their foreign recruits but on home-grown talents, including their swashbuckling captain.

Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir hope to provide the fireworks upfront, while Shikhar Dhawan too has been impressive so far. And in case Steyn and Co. rock Delhi’s boat, Shoaib Malik, Manoj Tiwary, Bhatia and Dinesh Karthik can steady the innings.

While the Bangalore attack boasts of the Steyn-Zaheer duo, Delhi looks more than balanced with Glenn McGrath, Mohammed Asif and Fervez Mahroof bolstering the pace attack.