IPL Schedule 2016: Upcoming Fixtures, Odds, Start Times and Predictions

Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to claim a third win on the bounce when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in the 2016 Indian Premier League on Wednesday at Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

A victory for Virat Kohli's side would take them level on points with Mumbai and Delhi Daredevils, and it could give them the edge as they look to make the knockout stages for the second year in a row.

Mumbai themselves need to get back on track in their pursuit of a top-four finish after their three-game winning streak was ended in humbling fashion last time out as they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 85 runs.

Read on for a closer examination of Wednesday's matchup, along with odds, full scheduling details and predictions for the upcoming fixtures in IPL 9.

Date	Time (BST/IST)	Fixture	Venue	Predicted Winner
May 11	3:30 p.m./8 p.m.	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Mumbai Indians	Bangalore	RCB
May 12	3:30 p.m./8 p.m.	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Delhi Daredevils	Deccan	SRH
May 13	3:30 p.m./8 p.m.	Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab	Visakhapatnam	MI
May 14	11:30 a.m./4 p.m.	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Gujarat Lions	Bangalore	GL
May 14	3:30 p.m./8 p.m.	Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rising Pune Supergiants	Kolkata	KKR

For the full schedule, visit the IPL’s official website. Watch all matches live on Sky Sports and live stream via Sky Go (UK only).  

Royal Challengers Bangalore (4-5) vs. Mumbai Indians (evens)

RCB have arguably the most formidable batting lineup in the entire tournament.

Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle are three of the most devastating hitters in the world, while the likes of Shane Watson and Lokesh Rahul are also more than capable of scoring a few runs.

When in-form Kohli could not make a telling contribution last time out against Kings XI Punjab, De Villiers produced a stunning 35-ball 64, while Rahul scored 42, per Cricbuzz:

Such is the way with RCB that if one of their stars falls cheaply, there is almost always another ready to put on a batting masterclass.

Their totals in this season's IPL have been quite remarkable, their lowest score so far from nine matches being the 170 they scored in defeat to Mumbai when they met for the first time last month.

Maddeningly for their fans, though, Bangalore's bowling unit has been remarkably poor in backing up the strength of the batting unit, hence why they have lost five of their nine matches this season.

Even in their two recent victories—by one run against Kings XI and seven wickets against Rising Pune Supergiants—the performances with the ball were not the best.

However, they are now on something of a roll and a place in the knockout stages is still within reach.

Wednesday's clash with Mumbai is a must-win game and RCB will hope to take advantage of the Indians after their crushing defeat last time out.

Rohit Sharma's side had been on a decent run before they were skittled out for 92, chasing 178, on Sunday by Hyderabad.

If ever Bangalore's bowling unit had a good chance to finally put in a winning performance for their batsmen it could be against a Mumbai side at a low ebb after a drubbing.

However, Mumbai's Hardik Pandya insisted their will be no hangover from the Sunrisers mauling, per the franchise's official website:

"

Honestly, it is pretty simple. We don’t have to think about the previous game and what happened with us. We are looking forward to tomorrow's game and it is important for us. Last match is the past and whatever comes our way, we are ready for it.

If you bowl well I don’t think the ground matters. I know it is a high scoring ground so we need to pick up wickets. AB de Villiers is in devastating form. It is important to be confident, and go in with a positive frame of mind. With someone like AB de Villiers and Kohli batting, you can’t make mistakes against them.

"

The two sides are fairly evenly matched with Mumbai boasting their own excellent batsmen—Sharma, Jos Buttler and Krunal Pandya—while in Jasprit Bumrah, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh they have a well balanced bowling attack.

It is likely to be a close-fought match, but RCB's recent form and batting prowess just about gives them the edge as they look to continue their march towards the top four.

Odds courtesy of Oddschecker.