The Royal Challengers Bangalore need to find their batting mojo immediately, or their chances of making the playoffs might just vanish without a trace after the IPL 2014 game on Sunday against the Rajasthan Royals.
Where to Watch Live:
The game 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 match can also be watched via live streaming online HERE or HERE. Watch the match in the rest of the world HERE, HERE or through the GoCricket apps. 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.
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.
RCB were powerless to stop the KXIP juggernaut from marauding over them at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, but the Bangalore franchise will be determined to ensure they don't go down in two home games in a row when the face the Royals.
The Royal Challengers came into IPL 2014 as the best looking, most destructive batting side, but apart from a few ridiculous innings (read AB De Villiers against the Sunrisers Hyderabad) here or there, the batting has been a big letdown.
"At the moment, it is not going too well for us as a team," RCB all-rounder Albie Morkel told IPL's official website.
"It just hasn't clicked, I don't know why. In five out of the seven games we have played, we have lost too many wickets up front. We are not playing too well as a team yet. There are six more games left and we have to win all of them to have a chance at the playoffs."
RCB are in sixth place at the moment, with three wins from eight matches, two points behind SRH, who currently hold the final playoff place.
To get to that top four position, RCB will need to play much better in their remaining six games, and a morale-boosting victory at home to end the two-game losing streak will be welcome.
The Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, are also coming off the back of a disappointing loss, with Shane Watson and co. unable to find their batting mojo and crumbling to a big defeat at the hands of the Sunrisers.
RR will be desperate to bounce back as soon as possible from the defeat and strengthen their grip on third place.
"We are in a decent position, we have won most of our games and we're sitting pretty well on the points table," RR batsman Steven Smith said. "I think a lot of the time the wicket has dictated how many runs we got.
"The wicket in Ahmedabad during the last match [a 32-run loss to SRH] was quite slow. It was a very low-scoring game and we just happened to be the lower-scoring side. It is not that big a worry; we just need to be a bit more consistent.
"The one thing about the Royals is that it's just about focusing on getting the processes right and knowing that we are not going to win all the matches. We know if we get the processes right, we will win more games than not."
