IPL Toss Today: No Hardik Pandya as RCB opt to field against MI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru opted to bowl against Mumbai Indians, seeking to improve their playoff standing after recent losses. The return of Phil Salt offers a significant boost for RCB. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, struggling in ninth, face potential elimination.
MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav expressed confidence in batting first, aiming to put pressure on the chasing side.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in a crucial IPL 2026 encounter. RCB head into the match under pressure after recent defeats against Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants pushed them down to fourth on the points table. Although they remain firmly in the playoff race, their cushion over the chasing teams has reduced significantly.
Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, are languishing in ninth place and are staring at elimination despite winning their previous game. Another defeat could leave them on the brink of elimination. MI regular captain Hardik Pandya misses this match as well after also being unavailable for the previous fixture.
At the toss, MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav said the side was “pretty confident” batting first on the black-soil wicket and believed scoreboard pressure would be important later in the game. “It’s a big ground and runs on the board will always create pressure on the opposition,” he said, while also admitting the team has been working hard to improve its bowling performances. RCB captain Rajat Patidar said bowling first was the “pretty obvious” decision because of the hard surface and favourable chasing conditions.