Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Phil Salt’s run of form in IPL 2026 has swung between promise and sudden setbacks. He struck 47 against Chennai Super Kings, yet could manage only 8 versus SunRisers Hyderabad and then followed that with a scoreless outing against Rajasthan Royals. It marked the third occasion in the tournament that Salt has been sent back for a first-ball duck.
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to field first in their Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Most dismissals on the first ball in an IPL innings
- 4 – Parthiv Patel
- 3 – Dwayne Smith
- 3 – Prithvi Shaw
- 3 – KL Rahul
- 3 – Phil Salt
After winning the toss, Royals captain Riyan Parag decided to bowl, pointing to rain in the days leading up to the game and the moisture expected on the surface. He said the conditions should still offer something for the team to work with, and emphasised that Rajasthan has been sharp and deliberate in its approach, aiming to keep evolving while staying true to the side’s strong momentum.
“We’re going to be bowling. It was supposed to be a dry wicket, but it has been raining for the last couple of days, and it rained a bit today as well. So there’s going to be a little moisture. We’re trying to extract it, but it seems like a really good wicket. Feels great. I think we’ve been very clinical since the start of the tournament. My message to the team was that we want to be a really pure team that plays strategic cricket – really smart cricket. So hopefully we keep assessing and adapting as we have done in the first three games and come up with really good results,” Parag said.
Rajasthan Royals have looked especially strong during the season. Their campaign began with a win over five-time champions Chennai Super Kings, and they backed it up with a comfortable triumph against Gujarat Titans. Most recently, they also overcame another five-time title winner, Mumbai Indians.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, meanwhile, have matched that intensity. They opened their IPL 2026 journey with a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, then produced a high-profile win against Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings, setting the tone for their bid to defend the title. Ahead of the contest with Rajasthan Royals, the Rajat Patidar-led unit wanted to secure a third straight win and also put an end to RR’s ongoing winning run.
RR vs RCB Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Dhruv Jurel (wk)
- Riyan Parag (c)
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Donovan Ferreira
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Jofra Archer
- Nandre Burger
- Sandeep Sharma
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Brijesh Sharma
Rajasthan Royals Impact Subs
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius
- Ravi Singh
- Shubham Dubey
- Tushar Deshpande
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Virat Kohli
- Philip Salt
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Rajat Patidar (c)
- Jitesh Sharma (wk)
- Tim David
- Romario Shepherd
- Krunal Pandya
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Abhinandan Singh
- Josh Hazlewood
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs
- Suyash Sharma
- Jacob Bethell
- Rasikh Salam Dar
- Kanishk Chouhan
- Venkatesh Iyer
