Bengaluru: There are happy homecomings, and then there are homecomings. The former is typically what everyone hopes for, but more often than not, the latter is what you end up with.

It's the kind of return to base you would rather have done without: tedious conversations, unmet emotions, unspoken bitterness…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru must be feeling all this and more in this complicated family reunion they've had to endure since coming to town a week or so ago.

Smriti Mandhana's crew entered the City with two wins from two games, and they looked whole. Since, though, their win column hasn't changed, but the number of games played has swelled to five, meaning they've lost their last three games.

And, this ignominy has unfolded in front of their faithful fan base. It's quite a wonder why folks throng the M Chinnaswamy stadium to continue to be disappointed!

So, expect a massive crowd to witness RCB take on Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Since it is the last game they play at home before completing their league fixtures in Lucknow and Mumbai, RCB will hope to give the locals something to hold onto.

A win perhaps? Well, that's not going to be the easiest of things to achieve against a side as well choreographed to tackle pressure as the Capitals.

With three wins from five games, Delhi haven't been at their best either, but they have showcased a propensity for a fight when it comes to it. RCB? Not so much. Of the three losses at home, the first two of them went down to the wire and they choked. But they at least showed that they were capable of being good for the most part. In their last game against Gujarat Giants, they were so pedestrian that they'd be stretched to find good things to say in the follow-up team meeting.

Surely, the defending champions feel the fall from grace is a tough one to digest, but with three games remaining, they have little choice but to show up at their best.

It can't just be about the Smritis and the Ellyse Perrys and so on. The others need to trust their roles and execute.

See, they've won the title before so a sense of pedigree must still linger, but they need to dive into that pool of erstwhile confidence to make something happen before it's too late.