IPL 2026: Captain Rajat Patidar back for RCB; SRH opt to bat in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins won the flip and opted to bat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru successful their IPL 2026 clash astatine the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium successful Hyderabad connected Friday.

Both teams person already secured their spots successful the playoffs."We'll bat first. I deliberation it's a agelong changeable getting successful the apical two, but we'll springiness it a bully ace tonight. We've been beauteous wide that the boys are going to bask it tonight. We're going to trial retired however bully you are, possibly effort a fewer caller things up of the finals. But just, again, bat first, effort and people arsenic large arsenic we can, spot if we tin defend.

"(On this season) Yeah, it's been truly pleasing to get the qualification earlier this past game.

The guys person been truly accordant each year. So, yeah, this 1 is astir apt the past 1 earlier we commencement getting truly serious," Cummins said during the toss."(On the supporters) They've been astonishing present astatine Uppal. All the streets person been lined, the hotel's been engaged the past fewer days. Yeah, we've won beauteous overmuch each nighttime crippled present this play arsenic well. So, hopefully, we decorativeness disconnected connected a bully note. Same operation arsenic the past game," the Australian added.

For RCB, skipper Rajat Patidar returned to pb the broadside aft missing the erstwhile lucifer against Punjab Kings."Wherever we go, we consciousness similar it's a location crippled for us. It doesn't substance wherever you are, you person to support your standards each game. You person to tick a batch of boxes. Bethell has a digit injury, and I americium back," Patidar said during the toss.

Playing XIs:Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam DarSunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib HussainHere are the Impact substitutes for some the teams:Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact subs: Tim David, Kanishk Chouhan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan CoxSunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Praful Hinge, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel