NEW DELHI: Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood’s comeback to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru playing XI after an injury break is a significant lift for their pace bowling unit. Ahead of the IPL 2026 showdown between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Guwahati, rain delayed the toss as covers were brought out for a spell of drizzle.
Once the weather settled, officials were able to clear the way for cricket to resume, but the start was delayed. The toss finally took place at 8:00 PM IST, and the match was scheduled to begin at 8:15 PM IST. However, after the toss, rain returned almost immediately, creating another interruption before play could get going again.
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag won the toss and chose to field first, pointing to moisture lingering on the surface following the earlier rain. Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar confirmed a notable selection move as well, naming Hazlewood back in the XI in place of Duffy.
Patidar explained the reasoning at the toss: “Duffy also bowled brilliantly in the last game. But everyone knows Josh is an experienced player, a specialist. I think his presence will definitely put us in a good frame of mind,” he said.
Parag also underlined the need for focus regardless of what has happened in earlier fixtures. “All the three games, that’s in the past. Today we’ve got to perform. If we don’t, we lose two points and we don’t want to do that,” he remarked, while also confirming Brijesh Sharma’s inclusion by replacing Tushar Deshpande.
With both sides arriving in strong form, the match looks set up as a tight contest—particularly with RCB’s pace attack facing an aggressive Rajasthan Royals batting line led by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood
Impact Subs:
- RCB: Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer
- RR: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpa
