IPL 2026: Hardik Pandya wins the toss; MI to bowl first against RR

Hardik Pandya (Pic: PTI)

Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Rajasthan Royals. The Royals will qualify for the playoffs with a win; meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians are eliminated from the tournament.

After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya opted to bowl first. The MI skipper hoped that his team could end a disappointing season on a positive note.

"We will bowl first. It looks like a good track and it tends to get better in the evening. It's a very special day, overall, the Reliance Foundation has helped and impacted 29 lakh people. It's a privilege to be part of this. Every year we come here, we know this specific game will have the loudest and best atmosphere. We just want to play good cricket for the kids and make sure they leave with some great memories. The pitch looks hard and it should get better once the sun goes down. It's been a tough season for us, but we want to finish on a high. Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) is resting and Deepak Chahar is in." Pandya said.

Riyan Parag admitted that he would have liked to bowl first, too. RR captain made three changes to the team with Jadeja coming back in the team for the must-win game.

"We would have bowled first as well. We know this could be our last game of the season and we want to play as if it is, aiming for the win. If you look at the season overall, there have been some terrific performances. Everything that we've put together so far this season has really been an inspiration. I feel all the praise, all the energy that went into this tournament, this is the right time, the right opportunity. Just really maximise those opportunities, go ahead and win. Toda is a must win, if we win, we qualify and won't need any help from the other match. Three changes - Nandre (Burger) comes in, so does (Ravindra) Jadeja and me." Parag said.

Confirmed Playing XI of both teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma