The Royal Challengers Bangalore haven't been at their best so far in IPL 2015, while the Mumbai Indians are staring at another ridiculous comeback story again if they don't get their act together. So, plenty at stake then, in this IPL match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
RCB were played out of the park at their own ground by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game, with the batsmen not doing enough on a batting beauty, and the bowlers then unable to stop the marauding powers of David Warner.
Having suffered that defeat, it put RCB back in "we need to get back to winning ways" mode, with that victory over KKR in their IPL 2015 opener looking like a long, long time ago now.
With a six-day break coming after the loss to SRH, RCB will hope to come reignited and refreshed when they play the Mumbai Indians, who have lost all four of their matches in IPL 2015.
"It [the break] gave us a chance to work on our game more specifically and also watch the other teams on TV and see how they play," said all-rounder Darren Sammy, who has not quite found his RCB groove yet. "Everybody is eager to step on to the park [and perform]."
While the batting has not been at their best so far for the Royal Challengers, the bowling also needs plenty of improvement and one man who can turn RCB into a supreme bowling unit just like that is Mitchell Starc, the man of the tournament of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Starc has been nursing an injury since the CWC ended, but he is expected join the RCB camp soon, with Sammy hopeful the Australia fast bowler can make it in time for the match against the Mumbai Indians.
"We are expecting him tomorrow or sometime very soon," added Sammy on Saturday. "With the form he is in, for us to have him here and lead the bowling attack will be massive. If he is available for us tomorrow, it will be a good addition to the squad."
If Starc is playing or not, MI will only be concentrating on one thing – getting a win, someway, somehow. In all four of their matches, they have been second best, and therefore find themselves in an unenviable position.
Rohit Sharma seems to be saying the same things time and again in every post-match interview, and if that narrative has to be changed, that batting top order of MI needs to come to the fore.
The bowling has not fared too much better either, and a bowling spell for the ages from someone like Lasith Malinga will be more than welcome. To stop Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, the Mumbai Indians will need their experienced bowlers, Malinga being the chief of them, to come to the party, or else it could be five defeats in five.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Score, Highlights and Match Report HERE
RCB vs MI is scheduled to begin at 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) with live coverage in India on Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Kix and Sony Aath. Audience in India can also watch the match via live streaming online on Hotstar and the Starsports website.
The IPL 2015 match can be watched live in the UK and Europe on Sky Sports or via live stream on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports. Catch the game live in the US on ESPN, while all the IPL 2015 action can also be live streamed on ESPN Cricket.
Viewers around the world can watch Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Live on Cricketgateway.com.
