Rajasthan Royals had to swallow a third consecutive defeat about 10 days ago, and Riyan Parag did not dress it up. With the squad drifting perilously toward the wrong end of the table, he warned that if they kept carrying on in the same manner, they would not deserve a shot at the top four. This season has been unforgiving for teams that let tiny flaws snowball into bigger problems, and RR’s position at sixth at that stage felt like a warning flare rather than a place on the map. The good news for Rajasthan is that they managed to arrest the slide at exactly the right moment, putting together two timely victories against the weakest sides of the campaign. Even so, they will know the history that seems to follow them into knockout cricket: in the 15 years since the league format took its modern shape, only one team has lifted the IPL title after appearing in the Eliminator. That rare case was Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, and they were RR’s opponents when that tournament began its final stretch in Mullanpur. SRH will be hoping that “2026 is the new 2016” is more than a catchy line for social media, because their recent journey has carried a familiar pattern—except for one tense finish against Lucknow Super Giants on the penultimate delivery, their other four losses have not come down to razor-thin margins. On those off days, they have often been outplayed comfortably, and for a batting-heavy side that can do the job when set, their 86 all out against Gujarat Titans ultimately proved to be the turning point that cost them ground on the top two. If that matters, RR have also looked like a side SRH struggle to shake: since 2022, Rajasthan have won six straight matches against them.
Match: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Eliminator, May 26 at 19:30 IST
Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh
Pitch & conditions: With temperatures in the city sitting above 40 degrees even after 5pm, the ball is expected to grip differently as innings progress. SRH’s camp indicated that Pitch 4 will be used. In their previous outing on the same surface against PBKS, Hyderabad managed 219 and Punjab chased it down with ease, suggesting chasing is not impossible. On a wicket where scoring often drops noticeably after the Powerplay, the venue average for first-innings totals is 214. Punjab have even gone past 250 against LSG in a league match here. This year, the numbers also point toward spin being a factor: spinners hold an economy of 9.29, while pace has been priced at 11.06.
Head-to-head: SRH 14-9 RR
Team news, key battles and what the numbers say
Rajasthan’s availability has been discussed with a measured tone. At the press conference, Dasun Shanaka reiterated that both Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja have “a few niggles”, though he stopped short of giving a clear guarantee and said “hopefully they will be fine”. During the latter part of training, Jadeja worked through gentle throwdowns with one pad on after bowling earlier with a couple of paced efforts, suggesting the issue is being managed rather than ignored. If Jadeja does not make it, RR have the option of bringing in Ravi Bishnoi, who had bowled a long spell the previous evening. As another seam alternative, Sandeep Sharma is also in the mix. Parag, meanwhile, was seen watching rather than padding up during training, but he is expected to push through, consistent with what he hinted after the MI game.
Travis Head’s matchup with Jofra Archer is likely to define moments in the chase or the set. Across all T20 cricket, Head has struck at 160.6 against Archer’s pace, but he has also gone back three times in just 33 balls faced. Archer, currently in his best-ever IPL run, has a strike rate of 14.8 in Powerplays—an indicator that when he lands his early overs, batters have to reassess their plans. Head’s recent scores in this phase read 0, 6 and 26, which sets up a clear storyline: trust Archer to squeeze him with limited room and to back the surprise bumper when it counts. Asked about Head’s form given the high standards he sets for himself, assistant coach James Franklin suggested the team is weighing the partnerships that Head and Abhishek Sharma can build together rather than focusing only on isolated innings. Franklin also noted that Head has around 400 runs in the tournament (393), calling it “pretty good IPL”.
Probable XI (RR): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Dasun Shanaka, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Shubham Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja / Ravi Bishnoi, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma
Sunrisers Hyderabad, by contrast, have not flagged any injuries in their camp. On the tactical front, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi already has a century against SRH this season, which naturally places the spotlight on how SRH plan to limit him if he gets going again. Pat Cummins faced him for only four balls during that earlier knock, but a longer confrontation this time could offer a more revealing contest. Cummins has also dismissed Riyan Parag three times in 14 balls, with his T20 average against Parag at 4.66 against the quick. Purely by figures, SRH may also consider Harshal Patel over Praful Hinge, as they did previously against RCB. Harshal has taken 23 wickets at 16.3 versus RR, and at Mullanpur he has 11 wickets at 16.63. Like Cummins’s pattern against Parag, Harshal too has dismissed Parag three times.
Probable XI (SRH): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel / Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Did you know? Ishan Kishan averages 51.33 from five playoff matches while striking at 130.5. This season, RR and SRH are almost level in Powerplay scoring, with run rates of 11.54 for Rajasthan and 11.02 for Hyderabad. At Mullanpur, six of the eight team totals have gone past 200.
What they said: James Franklin explained the thinking behind Nitish Reddy’s role, describing how his assignment has become slightly deeper than last year, with opportunities arriving as many as six or seven overs from the end at No.5 or No.6. Franklin credited Reddy with “unbelievable cameos” to close innings, and also pointed to how he has been used to bowl opening overs as well as in the middle, depending on the match-up the team expects. He also highlighted Pat Cummins’s leadership from the captain’s position during those phases. On Riyan Parag, Dasun Shanaka praised the captain’s decision-making, saying Parag sticks to his calls and that is what matters most. He acknowledged that some people criticise Parag but added that he views him as a leader “in the making,” capable of doing well for Rajasthan and for Indian cricket as well.
