27 May,2026 07:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pat Cummins (Pic: File Pic)
In the IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh.
The Sunrisers will enter the clash with one change, where Praful Hinge will come in place of Harshal Patel.
After winning the toss, SRH's skipper Cummins said, "We are going to have a bowl first. (Does having played finals before help?) I'm not sure really. I think maybe if you've played a few, you feel a bit more relaxed about it. But yeah, I think the most important thing is you are coming off having played really good cricket, which our guys are doing. (Your message to the bowlers?) We like to keep it pretty simple. There might be one or two guys or moments where we feel like we need to have a good plan for, but outside of that, we just want to lean into guys' strengths. (Any changes?) Hinge comes back in. (Have you thought about batting first?) Yes, I don't think we're that bothered, to be honest. We've won plenty of games batting first. Here seems to be a good chasing venue. Honestly, [if] we had lost the toss it wouldn't have mattered too much. But yeah, we'll have a crack first with the ball".
On the other hand, the Royals have also made one change. Shubham Dubey will make way for Ravindra Jadeja.
RR's captain Riyan Parag said, "Yeah, again, a little undecided, but we would have liked to bowl first as well. Having looked at the history here, I think two games this season, two games both chased, but good time to change that. (Three out of three wins so far at this venue) Yeah, happy memories. I think we've chased and defended as well. So I feel good memories, hopefully that continues. (How are you doing?) I'm fit to play. (Does having must-win situation help?) Maybe a mindset shift, yes. Just adds a little bit more to the table, a little bit more to the game. And even now, I think we've got no other options other than to win. But I think the chats have been that we keep doing the same thing. We leave it all once we step onto the ground, once we cross the boundary ropes. And if we can go back after 40 overs, look at the mirror and say we gave it our all, I'm happy whether we win or lose. (Any changes?) Pretty much the same team, just Jaddu comes into the XI and Dubey is impact".
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Ravichandran Smaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag (C), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Punja.
