The Royal Challengers Bangalore, after that soul-crushing loss to the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, will look for some serious bouncebackability powers when they host the Delhi Daredevils, a team in equally dire straits, in IPL 2014 on Tuesday night.
Where to Watch Live:
The game is scheduled for ab 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six (English) and Sony Max (Hindi) in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online HERE or HERE. Viewers in the US can catch the game on Willow TV or with the live streaming option HERE, while Canada viewers can do the same HERE. Watch the match in the rest of the world HERE, HERE or through the GoCricket apps.
Viewers in the Middle East can watch the action on OSN with the live streaming option available HERE, while New Zealand viewers can do the same via Sky NZ or HERE or via the above rest of the world options. Viewers in the UK can catch the match on ITV, while Pakistan viewers can do the same on Geo Super, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh audience able to watch the game on TV on Masaranga TV and Carlton Sports Network respectively.
Both teams need a win to keep their slim hopes of making the playoffs alive, with DD's chances of finishing in the top four looking more and more unlikely with every passing game.
The Daredevils can only manage seven wins for the season now after crashing to seven defeats already, and that might not be enough to make it to the playoffs. However, the manner in which they are playing at the moment, winning five games in a row to just finish with a 7-7 record looks as likely as Glenn Maxwell hitting a run-a-ball fifty.
"It's been a mixture of things," DD coach Gary Kirsten said when asked the reasons behind his team's lacklustre season. "Our bowling hasn't been on the mark in some games and then our batting hasn't clicked in the others. I think our performance has been inconsistent.
"We have done some good things on the field but haven't been able to continue them. In T20, if you want to put pressure on the opposition, you've got to have really good phases in a game where you dominate to cross the line."
One player to shine brightly through for DD has been JP Duminy, who has been far and away their best batsmen this season. The South African has finished games for the Daredevils extremely well, but that prowess has also led to the talented left-hander from being sent up the order, when giving the South African as many deliveries as possible has looked like the obvious option.
Kirsten and skipper Kevin Pietersen held Duminy back in their last game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and it worked to their detriment as the left-hander was given too few deliveries to make an impact, with DD eventually ending up with a below-par score.
"As a coach you always sit on that -- do you get your best batsman to face the most number of balls or do you use him to finish," Kirsten said. "MS Dhoni never bats higher up the order because he is such a good finisher. RCB generally keep AB de Villiers back to finish.
"We sit with the same problem when it comes to Duminy -- whether we keep him for the last five-six overs, where he's been devastating, or do we use him earlier to play a slightly different role. We've been caught in between."
For RCB, in seventh place, just two points above the Daredevils, the equation for the rest of their five matches will be simple enough – win them or look at another IPL season without taking part in the business end of the tournament.
The Bangalore franchise looked nailed-on for a victory over the Royals on Sunday, with Yuvraj Singh scoring a marvellous 83, while also picking up four wickets, but a stunning partnership between Steven Smith and James Faulkner completely took the game away from them with RR eventually cantering to a five-wicket victory with seven ball to spare.
Getting over such a loss is always difficult and RCB will need to bank on the experience of the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers to ensure the sea of red waiting at the Chinnaswamy Stadium do not go away unhappy for a second straight match.
