Struggling to find rhythm in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier league, defending champions Mumbai Indians and star studded Royal Challengers Bangalore will engage in a fight for survival when they face each other at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
After defeating arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in their last game in Pune, MI will be riding high on confidence to take on a strong batting line-up of RCB, which has the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum.
On the other hand, the heartbreaking back-to-back defeats at the hands of CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders in their home ground have shattered the confidence of Kohli's boys. They now have to come up with something different to get their hands on the coveted trophy, something they never managed in the IPl history.
Despite having an ample number of match winners in the squad, both these sides have failed to do justice to their caliber, which left them trailing at the bottom half of the table.
They both have managed to register just two wins in their seven matches this season. Due to a better run rate, Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai are at sixth, one place ahead of RCB.
Tuesday's encounter at Bengaluru will be crucial for both the teams. A loss at this point will make their quest to reach the top four positions even more difficult for both the sides.
Defending champions Mumbai would like to take a cue from their last encounter against RCB. With Rohit Sharma and Evin lewis firing 94 and 65 respectively after losing two wickets in the first two balls of the match, MI went on to defeat Virat Kohli's side by 46 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.
In the batting front, opener Suryakumar Yadav has been their most impressive player, tallying 274 runs in seven matches, while others have struggled for consistency.
Skipper Rohit, who has managed to score 196 runs in seven games, including two half centuries in the only two games MI have won, will try to play yet another impactful innings on Tuesday.
However, it will be interesting to see where their skipper bats. Ideally, opening the innings or playing one-down will give him the required time to settle down at the crease.
Moreover, the Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - who are doing good with the ball, would also like to replicate that with their bats, after scoring just 61 and 113 runs respectively in their seven games.
South African all rounder JP Duminy, who came as replacement for Kieron Pollard in the last game, would be eager to leave an impact. The South African did not get to bat in the last match as his side reached the target with loss of only two wickets.
A major cause of concern for Mumbai is their bowling department. The bowlers have failed to shine as a unit which has resulted in the side losing four close games.
The only relief for them is the emergence of young Mayank Markande, the leg-spinner who has bagged 10 wickets from seven games.
While death-over specialists Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman have bagged seven and six wickets respectively so far, they are yet to reach their full potential.
If Mumbai want to keep their hopes alive of a fourth title, then the duo has to do their best to restrict the likes of Kohli, De Villiers and McCullum.
On the other hand, RCB, which finished last in the 2017 edition, are struggling at seventh position after two wins and five defeats.
Adding to the misery is star batsman AB de Villiers' health. He skipped a game against KKR on Sunday because of high fever. RCB would be praying for his immediate return to the line-up.
The former South African captain has been in prime form this season, smashing 68 off 30 balls against CSK and single-handedly defeating Delhi Daredevils with his unbeaten 90 off 39.
Skipper Kohli would also want to produce yet another special innings, especially after getting two unbeaten knocks of 92 and 68 against Mumbai and KKR respectively. The side will also be wary of the talent of other batsmen like Mandeep, McCullum and de Kock.
In the bowling section, apart from Yuzvendra Chahal, others have failed to impress so far.