Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to field first in the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals at New Chandigarh. Cummins pointed to a strong trend for teams chasing at the venue, while Rajasthan captain Riyan Parag said he would have preferred the opposite approach.
Key takeaways
- Pat Cummins chose to bowl in the IPL 2026 Eliminator versus Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh.
- Cummins’ rationale was the venue’s chasing advantage this season, with three wins from four chases.
- Praful Hinge returned to the Sunrisers XI, replacing Harshal Patel in their pace department.
- Rajasthan made a single XI change, with Ravindra Jadeja named in the starting group.
- Sunrisers have beaten Rajasthan twice in IPL 2026 this season, while RR remain unbeaten at New Chandigarh.
Captain’s call and the thinking behind it
In the eliminator, Cummins opted to put RR in to bat first. The SRH captain referenced the positive run of results for sides chasing at New Chandigarh this season, noting that teams have successfully chased on three occasions out of four matches.
Parag, Rajasthan’s captain, responded that he would have liked to chase the target as well, even though SRH’s decision ultimately forced RR to set a total.
Team news: XI changes and Impact Player possibilities
Sunrisers Hyderabad brought Praful Hinge back into their playing XI, with Harshal Patel dropped from the pace attack. The selection hinted that SRH believe the pitch may offer more assistance to bowlers early on, rather than providing as much value for cutters and slower-ball variations.
For SRH’s Impact Player plan during the chase, either Salil Arora or Aniket Verma could be introduced from the bench.
Rajasthan’s starting XI saw only one adjustment, though that doesn’t rule out changes to their overall match strategy. Ravindra Jadeja is set to bat in the first XI, while Shubham Dubey is available as an Impact Player option.
Because RR are batting first, Dubey’s likely role could be to slot in for a dismissed top-order batter during the innings. Alternatively, when Rajasthan switch to bowling, one of Ravi Bishnoi or Tushar Deshpande could be brought in depending on the conditions.
Head-to-head and venue record
SRH and RR have already met twice in IPL 2026, with Sunrisers winning both encounters.
Rajasthan, meanwhile, have maintained a perfect record at New Chandigarh. They have played three matches there against Punjab Kings and won all three, meaning they have never lost at the venue.
Playing XIs and Impact Player options
RR batting-first XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Nandre Burger, 10 Brijesh Sharma, 11 Yash Raj Punja
RR Impact Player options: Shubham Dubey, Sushant Mishra, Aman Perala, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande
SRH bowling-first XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 R Smaran, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Pat Cummins, 8 Shivang Kumar, 9 Eshan Malinga, 10 Sakib Hussain, 11 Praful Hinge
SRH Impact Player options: Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
