In the IPL 2026 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The “Paltan” will enter the clash with two changes, where Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner will come in place of Deepak Chahar and Allah Ghazanfar, respectively.
After winning the toss, MI`s skipper Pandya said, “We’re going to bowl first. Looks like a good track. We played the first game on the other pitch, this looks similar. It’s always good to bat second here. I think it’s a big game. Just want to come out and play our best cricket, do the things we’ve spoken about in the meetings, and just enjoy the sport. We requested good wickets and we’ve been getting them. As long as you land the ball right as a bowler and play the right shots as a batter, you’re in the game. Over the years at Wankhede, chasing has worked for a lot of teams. Being our home ground, dew comes in later as well. So it’s good to know what you’re chasing, you can plan your innings accordingly. Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner come in for Chahar and Ghazanfar”.
On the other hand, Josh Hazlewood will make way for Jacob Duffy in the Royal Challengers` team.
RCB`s captain Rajat Patidar said, “Obviously would have bowled first. But as you all know, it’s a good batting track. The ball comes nicely onto the bat with good bounce. So honestly, it won’t make too much difference. We’ll try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. This is our fourth game. The way we’ve played the last few matches, there are a lot of positives. In the last match, we were 97 for 6 and still managed to score over 200. That’s a positive sign for us. We enjoy it a lot here. Whenever we come, we see great crowds. It’s challenging, but at the same time, fun and exciting. Just one change, Duffy comes in place of Hazlewood”.
IPL 2026, Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Confirmed Playing XI
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mayank Markande.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.
