The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has already thrown up an early weather curveball, with Monday’s contest between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in Kolkata being abandoned due to rain. With the league now turning its focus to Tuesday’s highly anticipated clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, fans are once again watching the skies—especially after Guwahati has seen intermittent showers in the build-up.
Rain worry in Guwahati before RR vs MI
As the match day approaches, conditions in Guwahati’s Assam region have been changeable, and lightning risk is also part of the conversation. The forecast points to a heightened alert in the hours leading up to the game, but the outlook improves as evening progresses.
- An Orange Alert for lightning has been flagged for the period before the first ball.
- The probability of rain is set at 28% at 5:00 PM IST, which is two hours ahead of the scheduled toss.
- That rain chance drops sharply to 6% by 7:00 PM IST.
- The forecast keeps the rain probability at around 6% through the evening.
Cloud expectations also look more encouraging. Forecasted cloud cover is expected to ease dramatically, giving a clearer window for play later on match night.
- Cloud cover is projected to be at 100% at 6:00 PM IST.
- It is predicted to fall to 0% by 9:00 PM IST.
Put simply, even if there is a brief spell around toss time or at the start of the match, the expectation is that conditions should settle and that most of the game should be able to go ahead.
Hardik Pandya returns to training for Mumbai
On the MI front, there is a promising development ahead of Tuesday’s showdown with RR. Hardik Pandya has returned to training, a boost for Mumbai’s hopes that he will be available after missing their previous outing because of illness.
Hardik’s absence had been felt in the last match, where Mumbai’s leadership setup changed. With the full-time captain missing, Suryakumar Yadav took over the captaincy role for the away game against Delhi Capitals.
- Hardik Pandya missed Mumbai’s previous fixture due to illness.
- Suryakumar Yadav captained the side in Hardik’s absence against Delhi Capitals.
- At the toss, Suryakumar confirmed Pandya was “unwell”, prompting a reshuffle in the team’s combination.
- Mumbai introduced Deepak Chahar and Corbin Bosch for that match.
- Trent Boult was left out to maintain the overseas player quota balance.
What Pandya worked on in Guwahati
Despite the earlier setback, the 32-year-old all-rounder appeared to be in good rhythm during training in Guwahati on Sunday night. His session included focused bowling work followed by time in the nets with the bat.
According to what transpired during the session, Pandya’s emphasis was on yorkers—both in terms of execution and consistency.
- Pandya began with bowling drills, concentrating on yorkers and trying to hit steady lines at pace.
- He told team physiotherapist Nitin Patel that he has been working extensively on his yorkers since the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
- He believes improving yorkers helps make other deliveries easier to carry out.
Later, he moved into the nets and batted under the watch of batting coach Kieron Pollard. He looked comfortable throughout—timing the ball well and showing no visible discomfort.
