The Royal Challengers Bangalore's fans and players have not had a lot to cheer about this season at all with their team sitting at the bottom of the IPL table having won just two out of their 12 matches so far. RCB's overall performances this season has been horrible and they are on a streak of five matches without a win.
In these circumstances, Virat Kohli and his men take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first match today. After being completely humiliated by them in the previous match, which saw them get all out for just 49, which is the lowest total scored in IPL history, RCB will be looking to put in a much better performance today and hopefully end their season with a few wins.
Also read: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) match prediction
In the overall head-to-head results between KKR and RCB, Gautam Gambir's team holds a 10-9 lead but RCB hold a 4-3 record against the Kolkata team in Bengaluru so there is still hope for last year's finalists to cause an upset on Sunday, May 7.
Given their current form, Bangalore will be expected to lose again today and with chances of finishing in the top four over, they have nothing left to play but for pride. They need one big performance especially from their batsmen if they are to win their penultimate game.
In their previous match against Kings XI Punjab, the RCB bowlers were actually really good as they restricted Punjab to a total of just 138. But poor battling performances from the likes of Chris Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villers saw them get just 119 as they were all out before the final over.
After that loss, Kohli said that nothing seems to be working for them and that it was very difficult to find motivation when you are playing like this.
"It's really disheartening. I don't know what to say about games like these any more. Its happening many a times for our liking and something we have not been able to change. Anything that we are trying is just not working. It's strange. People are trying to be positive, but are just not finding a way to make that big score," Kohli said.
As for Kolkata Knight Riders, they too are in a bit of a slump at the moment having lost their last two matches to Rising Pune Supergiant and Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR will be hoping to turn that around against an RCB side low on confidence at the moment and a win today for KKR will all but seal a place in the play-off.
The good news for KKR ahead of this match is that Chris Lynn could be back into the starting 11 soon. The Australian injured his shoulder earlier in the tournament and said he hoped to be back before the playoffs and was back to training this week. According to assistant coach Simon Katich, Lynn "could well be available for selection".
KKR will also be hoping to get back Robin Uthappa into the team. He missed their loss to Pune due to a hamstring injury and his inclusion to the team will be crucial to them as they look to get back to winning ways.
Where to watch
The IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Rider is set to start at 4:00pm IST, 11:30am BST and 6:30am EST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
UK: TV: Sky Sports Mix. Live Streaming: Sky Sports Go.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
