Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar called correctly and, without much hesitation, opted to field first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2026 IPL opener in Bengaluru.
“It’s a fresh deck, there might be something in it for the quicks early on,” Patidar said at the toss. “We’ll back the batting group to chase whatever is set.”
Stand-in Sunrisers captain Ishan Kishan – holding the reins while Pat Cummins finishes rehab – did not seem perturbed. “If it plays well now, it should play well later,” he shrugged. “Put runs on the board and apply pressure, that’s the simple plan.”
New faces on both sides
RCB handed caps to two debutants. Jacob Duffy, the New Zealand seamer, fills the overseas pace slot while Josh Hazlewood completes his fitness work. More eye-catching, perhaps, is the selection of 28-year-old Abhinandan Singh, still waiting for a first-class appearance for his state but hard to ignore after a lively UPT20 campaign. “He swings it at decent pace and keeps running in,” bowling coach Adam Griffith noted during the week.
Sunrisers offered their own new story in Salil Arora, the batter who cleared the ropes 28 times in the last Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – second only to Kishan in that competition. The decision meant Liam Livingstone sat out for now, with Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and young quick Eshan Malinga occupying the other overseas berths. Bowling coach James Hopes felt Arora’s inclusion was “a reward for fearless striking”.
Early selection puzzles
RCB chose a batting-heavy Impact bench – Devdutt Padikkal and Venkatesh Iyer stand by – hinting at a possible chase-friendly strategy. Veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar joins Duffy with the new ball; leg-spinner Suyash Sharma provides middle-overs variety.
SRH, by contrast, parked left-arm seamer David Payne on their bench. Payne’s recent powerplay numbers in the BBL and ILT20 are excellent, so a quick substitution if the surface grips would hardly surprise.
Full XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (wk), Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.
Impact options: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Eshan Malinga, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.
Impact options: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, R Smaran, Sakib Hussain.
What to watch
1. Duffy’s control in the powerplay – RCB hope he bowls the hard lengths Hazlewood usually delivers.
2. Arora’s intent – if he swings from the hip again, SRH’s middle phase could be brisk.
3. Early use of the Impact Player – Payne for a batter, or Iyer for a bowler, might arrive sooner rather than later.
First ball is scheduled for 7.30 pm local; weather is clear, pitch looks light-coloured with a faint sheen. Nothing out of the ordinary, yet plenty of first-night curiosity.
