RCB meet PBKS in return tie; resurgent MI play CSK

After a forgettable loss at home against Punjab on Friday, RCB travel to Mullanpur hoping for their batters to fire

- Sharda Ugra

MULLANPUR: Royal Challengers Bengaluru have very little time to pick up the pieces after a debilitating loss as they eye a much-improved display from their batting unit in a return Indian Premier League match against in-form Punjab Kings here on Sunday.

With the exception of Tim David, the RCB batters had a night to forget as they slipped to 95 for nine against PBKS in Bengaluru on Friday, losing the match by five wickets.

In a rain-curtailed 14-over-a-side match, the RCB batters cut a sorry figure with the likes of Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, skipper Rajat Patidar, and Liam Livingstone failing miserably in front of their home crowd.

Patidar acknowledged the batters' failure at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. "Initially it was sticking and two paced, but we could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important, we have lost wickets in quick intervals and that's a big lesson for us," Patidar had said after the loss against Punjab Kings.

Come Sunday, and RCB, who are placed fourth in the points table, would bank on Salt and Kohli to provide an explosive start and the onus would be on Patidar, Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya and David to lend stability in the middle-order.

On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be spearheading the attack but they will need a lot more support from people like Yash Dayal, Krunal and Suyash Sharma. Despite their third loss at home, Hazlewood sought to look at the positives.