Rajasthan Royals Opt to Bowl First vs Royal Challengers Bangalore; Early Wickets Put RCB Under Pressure

IPL 2026's 16th match will be played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, located in Guwahati. The Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag won the toss and decided to take the field first. Rajasthan has been performing well recently. This match will be played on pitch number 5, the same pitch on which their previous match was played.

In their previous match, Rajasthan Royals faced Mumbai Indians. Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to take the field first, but that was a wrong choice. When batting first, the Rajasthan Royals scored 150 runs in just 11 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi together took the team to 80 runs in the first five overs. Bowlers like Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah were also thrashed, leaving Mumbai Indians far short of this target.

When Royal Challengers Bangalore faced Rajasthan Royals on the same pitch, Riyan Parag won the toss and also decided to bowl. He cited the pitch as appearing quite dry. Although there have been overcast conditions for the past few days and the pitch was covered, the continuous rain may have created some moisture on the surface, which they will try to take advantage of.

Jofra Archer proved Riyan Parag's decision right with the very first ball, dismissing Phil Salt. Archer took another wicket with the last ball of the third over. In the fifth over, Ravi Bishnoi also dismissed Virat Kohli. After five overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore had lost three wickets and scored 58 runs. Meanwhile, when Mumbai Indians came out to bowl on this pitch, they had conceded 80 runs in five overs.

It should be noted that Rajasthan Royals have made a change to their playing eleven, replacing Tushar with Brijesh. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have included Josh Hazlewood in the playing eleven, replacing Jacob Duffy, who performed well in the previous match. The team cited Hazlewood's greater experience as the reason for his inclusion in the team.