Buoyed by their early success, Rajasthan Royals, winners of the inaugural edition in 2008, will take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
RR have made a strong start to their campaign with wins in their first two matches. They started with an emphatic win against Chennai Super Kings and later secured a narrow six-run win against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
The former champions have a powerful batting line-up, with an aggressive opening pair in Vibhu Suryavanshi and Yashwi Jaiswal. Additionally, captain Ryan Parag and Dhruv Jarrell provide support in the middle order. Their fast bowlers, led by Jofra Archer and Nandre Berger, also performed well with the new ball.
Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, enter the match on the back of a losing streak against Delhi Capitals. The five-time champions have had a mixed start, winning against Kolkata Knight Riders but struggling with consistency overall.
Currently sixth in the table, MI will be eager to bounce back, with captain Hardik Pandya likely to return to the playing XI. The addition of Mitchell Santner strengthens their spin department and provides better balance, allowing the team to field a three-pronged Indian pace attack alongside Trent Boult.
On paper, the two teams look evenly matched, setting the stage for a competitive clash in Guwahati. While Rajasthan will aim to extend their winning streak and cement their status as early contenders, Mumbai will be desperate to regroup and get their campaign back on track.
Mumbai Indians bowling coach Paras Mehmbare has confirmed that skipper Hardik Pandya will be available for the team’s clash against Rajasthan Royals.
Pandya was ruled out of the previous match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which MI lost by six wickets due to illness. He returned to the nets in Guwahati on Sunday night, where he bowled and batted fluently.
“He will be available. He had a good few hours in the net session yesterday, so he is fit and fine. He was not injured, he was sick, that is why he is out of the match,” Membre said in the pre-match press conference.
Pandya’s absence in the last game forced MI to reshuffle their combination, with South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch replacing Trent Boult, while Deepak Chahar also came into the squad.
“Well, I think that’s something you have to take care of. Injuries are something you can’t control. But I think we’ve got the team, we’ve got enough guys to mix and match, and looking at the level combination, but I think we’ve got enough guys to look around.
“I think it was just a combination change. Obviously, Hardik gives you a bat and a bowler option – an all-rounder. Since he was not available, we needed a replacement who could fill that role for us. It’s purely a tactical decision that we went with,” added Mhambrey.
MI is all set to play an IPL game in Guwahati for the first time, and one matchup to watch will be how RR batsmen Vibhu Suryavanshi, Yashwi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jural fare against pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
