IPL Toss Today: No Hardik Pandya as RCB opt to field against MI

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in a crucial IPL 2026 encounter.

RCB head into the match under pressure after recent defeats against Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants pushed them down to fourth on the points table. Although they remain firmly in the playoff race, their cushion over the chasing teams has reduced significantly.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, are languishing in ninth place and are staring at elimination despite winning their previous game. Another defeat could leave them on the brink of elimination. MI regular captain Hardik Pandya misses this match as well after also being unavailable for the previous fixture.

At the toss, MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav said the side was “pretty confident” batting first on the black-soil wicket and believed scoreboard pressure would be important later in the game. “It’s a big ground and runs on the board will always create pressure on the opposition,” he said, while also admitting the team has been working hard to improve its bowling performances.

RCB captain Rajat Patidar said bowling first was the “pretty obvious” decision because of the hard surface and favourable chasing conditions. “We had a couple of losses but it’s important to stay in the present and focus on our strengths,” Patidar said. He added that RCB were more focused on improving their own game rather than worrying about other teams.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar