Royal Challengers Bengaluru are desperate for a home win. Rajasthan Royals are desperate for a win, period. How this collective desperation will unravel at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday night is anybody’s guess.

For all their successes away — Rajat Patidar’s men have won all five games on the road — RCB have failed to impose themselves in their backyard, their formidable batting line-up coming seriously unstuck in less than ideal batting conditions. Scores of 169 and 163 in their two opening games against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals respectively were followed up by 95-9 in a rain-hit 14-over encounter against Punjab Kings last week when they got the rough end of the stick, asked to bat first on a surface that had sweated under the covers for long.