In a classic tale of weather woes disrupting cricket’s glamour, Mumbai Indians grabbed the upper hand in their IPL 2026 fixture against Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium. After nearly three hours of rain interruptions, Hardik Pandya called correctly at the toss and chose to field first in the now 9-over-a-side thriller.
The match, originally slated for 7:30 PM, faced heavy showers from midday, peaking post-scheduled start. Super soppers cleared the excess water, paving way for toss at 9:55 PM. Rules adapt to the cut: 3.2-over powerplay, with bowling limits of 2-2-2-2 overs for four pacers and 3 for one.
‘Pitch was covered, dew might help chasing later. Season’s just beginning; errors are part of it. Thrilled with my return and Boult’s,’ Pandya noted confidently.
Parag, undeterred, shared: ‘Toss loss stings, but we’d have bowled anyway. Sudden rains changed everything. Impressed by how lads managed pressure in back-to-back varied games. No changes.’
Ground staff’s herculean efforts turned a waterlogged pitch playable, heightening anticipation for this pivotal encounter.
Rajasthan chases history with a potential third straight win, following dominant victories over CSK (8 wkts) and GT (6 runs). Mumbai seeks redemption after a strong KKR scalp but a DC defeat.
Mumbai XI: Rohit Sharma, Rickelton (wk), Varma, SKY, Pandya (c), Dhir, Thakur, Chahar, Ghazanfar, Boult, Bumrah.
Rajasthan XI: Suryavanshi, Jaiswal, Jurel (wk), Parag (c), Hetmyer, Ferreira, Jadeja, Archer, Burger, Deshpande, Sharma.
With stars aligned under clearing skies, expect fireworks in this rain-curtailed battle that could shift playoff fortunes early.
