Languishing at the bottom of the table, Pune Warriors would be keen to repeat the performance they gave a fortnight ago against the same opposition, when they defeated them by 24 runs -- that too in an away match.
But in the days after that, the Allan Donald-coached side has lost four matches on the trot, including last night's game against an equally out of sorts Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs, and the odds are heavily stacked against them.
The Warriors have been inconsistent in all departments, with the batsmen failing to contribute in the initial matches and bowlers being sent on a leather hunt in the later games.
Jamaican Chris Gayle had clobbered the Pune bowlers for a record 66-ball 175 at Bangalore, and they conceded 63 runs off their last five overs against a struggling Delhi Daredevils side last night.
Pune's batting has failed to fire in unison in most of the matches with captain Aaron Finch being the only one to have scored half-centuries, on three occasions. His compatriot Steve Smith has also made some useful contributions in the middle order.