The Mumbai Indians (MI) will be looking to return to winning ways in their third game of IPL 2026, for which they have flown to Guwahati, where they will meet the in-form Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The five-time champions had begun their campaign this year with a victory – winning their first opening game in the IPL since 2012 – over Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai. However, their joy was short-lived as they went down to Delhi Capitals in Delhi by six wickets.
That defeat against Delhi, though, came when they had to take the field without their best XI as skipper Hardik Pandya missed the fixture because he was unwell.
Hardik’s absence had a knock-on effect: MI had to bring in South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch in the side to replace Hardik, which meant they had to leave out Trent Boult, and in came Deepak Chahar.
The Royals, led by Riyan Parag, have started the season on an emphatic note with two wins in two outings, beating former champions Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans. A victory tonight for RR will propel them to the top of the points table.
The MI vs RR match is slated for Tuesday evening at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
RR vs MI: Will Hardik Pandya Play Today Against Rajasthan Royals?
MI captain Hardik Pandya is all but certain to play tonight’s match against RR. Pandya, who missed the game against Delhi due to sickness, returned to the nets on Sunday.
With Hardik returning, MI will once again have to make two changes. Hardik will replace Bosch, while Boult will come back in the side for either Deepak Chahar or Shardul Thakur. Against DC, Deepak bowled impressively for figures of 1/20 in three overs, whereas Shardul leaked 41 runs in three overs.
Given that the Guwahati pitch offers movement early on, Chahar seems a better pacer to exploit the new-ball assistance from the surface than Thakur. However, Shardul had delivered a Man of the Match-worthy performance a game ago versus KKR.
RR vs MI: Mumbai Indians predicted XII
Hardik Pandya (C), Ryan Rickleton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Mitchell Santner, Sherfane Rutherford, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar/Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, Trent Boult
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