IPL Schedule 2017: Upcoming Live-Stream, TV Info for Indian Premier League
Royal Challengers Bangalore need to beat the Gujarat Lions on Thursday to keep alive their slim hopes of a successful 2017 Indian Premier League campaign.
Bangalore were restricted to just 49 runs on Sunday in a dreadful display against the Kolkata Knight Riders, but they've had no opportunity to bounce back since after their match with Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday was abandoned without a ball bowled due to the weather and the pair split the points.
That left them with five points from eight matches, so even six wins from their remaining six fixtures may not be enough—any slip-up from here on in could be disastrous.
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Here is the upcoming schedule:
| Thursday, April 27 | 3:30 p.m./8 p.m. | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Gujarat Lions | Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA) |
| Friday, April 28 | 11:30 a.m./4 p.m. | Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Delhi Daredevils | Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA) |
| Friday, April 28 | 3:30 p.m./8 p.m. | Kings XI Punjab vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad | Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA) |
| Saturday, April 29 | 3:30 p.m./8 p.m. | Rising Pune Supergiant vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore | Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA) |
| Saturday, April 29 | 11:30 a.m./4 p.m. | Gujarat Lions vs. Mumbai Indians | Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA) |
After their calamitous outing on Sunday, a washout at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium two days later was almost the last thing the Royal Challengers needed.
As former cricketer Aakash Chopra noted, Bangalore have struggled with the conditions on their home turf this season:
Even against the Sunrisers, who have had a much better season, it will likely have felt like a point lost given their need for wins.
It also prevented Bangalore from exorcising the result from Sunday at the earliest possible opportunity.
Staggeringly, their total of 49 in that match—the lowest score in IPL history—was achieved despite the presence of batsmen such as Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, and none managed to escape single figures.
If the top order batting trio play to their capability on Thursday, they can and should be able to beat Gujarat handily.
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The Lions are bottom of the IPL with just two wins from seven matches, and they've particularly struggled with ball in hand this season, taking just 25 wickets in their entire campaign.
That isn't likely to improve with Dwayne Bravo unable to recover from a hamstring injury in time to feature this year, as sports commentator Ayaz Memon noted:
In his place, Gujarat have brought in the unsold all-rounder Irfan Pathan to replace him, per ESPNCricinfo.
Pathan has plenty of experience having previously played for five other IPL franchises, racking up 80 wickets and 1,137 runs from 102 IPL matches, but he didn't manage a single wicket last year with Rising Pune Supergiant.
If Gujarat's bowling is disappointing once again, Bangalore could score a healthy number of runs, which will be their aim after last time.
The Royal Challengers can take encouragement not only from Gujarat's struggles with the ball but also—in the broader context of their season—from last year, per ESPN's Freddie Wilde:
It will be an incredibly difficult ask for them to do so again, but they can at least take a step in the right direction with a win over Gujarat on Thursday.
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