Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Yuvraj Singh at one end and Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey and Virender Sehwag at the other - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab promises to be a run-fest of enormous proportions come Friday.
Where to Watch Live:
The match is scheduled for an 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 game can also be watched via live streaming online HERE or HERE. Viewers around the world can live stream the T20 action HERE or HERE. Watch the game in the US through Willow TV or via the live streaming optionHERE, while Canada viewers can watch the games on Sportsnet or HERE.
Viewers in the Middle East can watch the action on OSN with the live streaming option 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.
Two of the biggest and most powerful batting teams collide at the M Chinnanswamy Stadium, with the only hope that the IPL 2014 match in Bangalore is not disrupted by rain, with wet weather very much the norm in the city for the last few days.
RCB, courtesy that magician De Villiers, put up a show for the ages in their last home game, topping Sunrisers Hyderabad in a humdinger. The momentum of that big win could not be carried forward, though, with the Royal Challengers' away woes coming to haunt them again in a big loss to the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
"Bowling let us down a little bit," RCB coach Daniel Vettori said after the 19-run defeat to MI. "My main issue is mainly around the extras. I think the extras contributed a lot to that. 25 extras is far too many and that was almost the difference between the two teams.
"It was a tough total to chase. 190 in any T20 game is hard and the start that we got was fantastic. We lost some crucial wickets and when you do that you put up pressure on guys coming in. It's the guys that are set who need to kick on. Unfortunately it didn't happen."
At home, however, RCB are as formidable a team as any, and Kings XI will know they are in for a contest come Friday. The batting order still needs to click as a unit, with sheer individual brilliance, like the one by De Villiers against SRH, taking them over the line.
Having managed just three wins in seven matches, RCB will know the importance of making full use of their home advantage against the in-form KXIP, who will be buzzing after the massive win over the Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.
The Punjab franchise put on 231 against CSK's formidable bowling attack, and if the likes of Maxwell, Miller and Bailey catch fire, then the RCB bowlers, with the small boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, will be in for a long evening.
RCB will bank on their big hitters, starting with Gayle, who is still struggling with injury. Kohli is yet to set IPL 2014 alight as well, and the game against the table-toppers might just be the occasion for one of the true big-game players in world cricket to catch fire.
