Guwahati, April 8: In a rain-affected match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, the Mumbai Indians (MI) won the toss against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and chose to bowl first. The toss was delayed by 2 hours and 55 minutes due to heavy rain. The match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium saw a reduction of overs to 9 per side.
After winning the toss, MI captain Hardik Pandya stated, “We will bowl first. The pitch was covered, and it is generally better to bat second in rain-affected matches. This has always been in our minds. It’s still early in the season, so mistakes are expected; the IPL is not won in the first few weeks. I’m back, and Trent Boult has returned as well.”
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag mentioned, “Actually, we would have chosen to bowl if we had won the toss. The weather was supposed to be dry, but then it rained heavily. What’s done is done. We have played two different types of matches, but I am really happy with how the players handled the pressure. Our team will remain the same.”
Heavy rain started in the city from the afternoon, prompting the ground staff to cover the pitch at the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Stadium in Guwahati. The intensity of the rain increased after the scheduled match time of 7:30 PM.
Once the rain stopped, a ‘super sopper’ was deployed to remove excess water from the field. After a long wait, the toss took place at 9:55 PM, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 10:10 PM.
Both teams will bat for 11 overs in this match. There will be a powerplay of 3.2 overs. Four bowlers can bowl two overs each, while one bowler can bowl three overs.
RR aims to secure a hat-trick of wins in this match. They recently defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 8 wickets and the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 6 runs. Meanwhile, MI faced a defeat against the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 6 wickets after winning against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 6 wickets.
Mumbai Indians’ Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (Wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (Captain), Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, A.M. Gajanfar, Trent Boult, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Rajasthan Royals’ Playing XI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag (Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, and Sandeep Sharma.
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