what is the story
Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 16th match of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Despite the first rain interruption, the match will be of full 20 overs. Rajasthan Royals have made one change and included Brijesh Sharma in the playing eleven in place of Tushar Deshpande. Meanwhile, RCB has welcomed back Josh Hazlewood in place of Jacob Duffy after a two-match injury layoff.
Patidar welcomed Hazlewood’s return
RR captain Riyan Parag said that the pitch looks dry but the recent rain may affect it initially. “It was expected that it would be a dry wicket, but it has been raining for the last few days and it rained a little today too,” he said. RCB captain Rajat Patidar welcomed Hazlewood’s return, saying his experience will boost his confidence.
Hazlewood has been sensational in the IPL
Notably, Hazlewood has performed phenomenally in the tournament, taking 57 wickets at 20.98 (ER: 8.27) in 39 IPL innings. He also played a key role in helping RCB lift its first IPL trophy last season by taking 22 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.54. In particular, Duffy performed well in Hazlewood’s absence and took five wickets in two matches. This included a player-of-the-match winner of 3/22 in the season opener.
RCB’s playing eleven for the match
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethel, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chauhan and Venkatesh Iyer are the impact subscriptions of the team.
RR’s XI for the game
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ryan Parag (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Joffra Archer, Nandre Berger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma When RR bats, Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be their impact player. Luan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey and Tushar Deshpande are the other impact members.