Would love to beat Deccan in front of home crowd: Dravid

Rajasthan Royals' new recruit and former India captain Rahul Dravid on Friday said he would love to spoil Deccan Chargers party in front of their home crowd when the two teams meet in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

A completely new-look Deccan, led by Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, would look to test their strength after finishing fourth and failing to qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 last year.

While Rajasthan Royals would be looking to revive their IPL fortunes as they have been on the downslide in the last two editions after their inaugural crown.

"Deccan is a good team so we are looking forward to play well against them and hopefully try to beat them. We will love to beat them in front of their home crowd," Dravid told PTI after the team's practice session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.

"Deccan is a very new team as they have got many new players. They are very different from last year. I will be playing against pacer Dale Steyn tomorrow who was my teammate last year as part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team," he added.

Deccan will be playing their first match in front of the home crowd after a gap of two years.

In 2009, the second edition of the tournament took place in South Africa due to a clash of dates with general elections in India while last year, the matches were shifted from Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam due to Telengana unrest. Deccan coach Darren Lehman said he is expecting a good turnout on Saturday.

"It should be an exciting match. It's great to play before the home crowd."