Eight games, seven defeats and a solitary win. From here, every game is a must-win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who remain rooted to the foot of the IPL 2024 points table. On Thursday, RCB take on the in-form SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) away from home, having already lost to the Pat Cummins-led side at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in a high-scoring conest. On the eve of the match, in a joint training session in Hyderabad, SRH captain Pat Cummins walked up to RCB icon Virat Kohli for a healthy banter.
In a viral video, Kohli was seen sitting on the ground when Cummins, all padded up, approached the former for a chat.
"The coach was saying I was making that wicket look flat. That's all I heard," Cummins can be heard as saying to Kohli.
Virat had a wry smile on his face as he replied: "You are too good, Pat".
The interaction between the two has gone viral on social media.
Ahead of the match, Cummins opened up on his admiration for Kohli and his best favourite memory of the star batter.
"My favourite memory of Virat Kohli, can I say whenever I get him out? (Laughs) I admire him a lot, he's always in the game whether batting or bowling. He's super competitive," Cummins said on Star Sports.
The last time SRH faced RCB, it turned out to be a run fest.
Batting first, SRH posted the biggest-ever IPL total, 287/3, going past the previous mark of 277 they made earlier during the season against Mumbai Indians.
The match produced the highest aggregate for a T20 game with a tally of 549 runs as RCB hit 262 while chasing.
Kohli has been getting the majority of runs for RCB this season despite their struggles. He holds the Orange Cap, given to the tournament's leading scorer, having amassed 379 runs in eight matches.