IPL 2026, RR vs MI 13th Match Match Preview

Big picture – Present vs future in Guwahati

Already, a lifetime has passed since then: he has gone on to smash umpteen records in Under-19 cricket and domestic cricket, then marked his sophomore year in the IPL with 52 off 17 and 31 off 18 in his first two innings. RR have won their opening two games of the season too, with Tushar Deshpande closing out a last-over thriller against Gujarat Titans.

Sooryavanshi – and his opening partner, Yashavi Jaiswal – return to face MI with a point to prove. Their swashbuckling opening stands have been the stuff of the future, and they now face up against the face of Indian cricket’s domineering present: Jasprit Bumrah.

Sooryavanshi has never faced Bumrah in professional cricket. If he sticks around long enough for the ball to be thrown Bumrah’s way, there’s a chance we’ll forget the immediate context of the match: that MI are looking to tighten up their bowling after being floored by Delhi Capitals, or that a win will take RR to the top of the table.

When the promise of the future runs into the quality of the present, who will come out on top? The answer to that question could decide the fate of the larger contest as well.

Team news – Hardik expected to return

RR’s batting order fired them to 210 againt GT. Their bowlers did just enough to scrape through to victory, so they will be tempted to retain the same line-up.

Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Nandre Burger, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Sandeep Sharma.

You might shuffle your cards here and there, but in the end, you find out that Hardik Pandya remains the ultimate puzzle piece for his side, whether that’s MI or India. He sat out the game against DC with an illness, and MI had to bring in Corbin Bosch and Deepak Chahar to make up for his absence. Pandya has since returned to bowl in the Guwahati nets, and is expected to replace Chahar. If so, Trent Boult is likely to return in Bosch’s place.

Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan RIckelton (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Naman Dhir, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Sherfane Rutherford, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mayank Markande/Ashwani Kumar, 12 Jasprit Bumrah.

Key question

In the spotlight – Jofra Archer and Mayank Markande

Jofra Archer is no longer the bowler he was at the turn of the decade – between 2018 and 2020, he could make the ball talk any way he wanted in the IPL. However, he still remains RR’s most lethal bowler, and against Gujarat Titans he directed balls into the blockhole as well as at the batter’s ribs in a vintage death-overs surge. How MI handle his overs could shift the barometer of their innings.

Mayank Markande has played both games for MI so far, with his team opting for an extra spinner alongside AM Ghazanfar and then Mitchell Santner. However, Markande hasn’t set the stage alight, going wicketless and going at exactly two runs per ball. He will be keen to make a bigger impression if he slots into the side again, especially in the middle overs.

Stats and trivia

Tilak Verma’s batting could be crucial to MI negotiating Archer’s threat. He got the better of Archer in emphatic fashion in their most recent meeting, the T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, hitting him for three successive sixes. In all T20s, Tilak has scored 54 runs off 21 balls against Archer, at a strike rate of 257, and been out just once.
Since IPL 2024, Bumrah has bowled 49.2% of his overs in the powerplay for India compared to 36.4% for MI. In fact, MI have used him nearly equally in all three phases (36% in powerplay, 35% in middle overs, and 29% in the death) compared to India (49, 26 and 25). He bowled two powerplay overs with MI defending a low score against DC, and he could be used early again, against the threat of Sooryavanshi.
This will be MI’s first-ever game at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati – the 31st stadium they will play an official match in.

Pitch and conditions

Guwahati favoured the fast bowlers in the only match played there so far this season: Chennai Super Kings were bowled out for 127, which Rajasthan chased down with ease. Early moisture, possibly an outcome of the pitch being under covers in the lead-up to the match, contributed to the help for the fast bowlers. We might see similar conditions on Tuesday evening, with a forecast of rain in the afternoon and clear skies by 6pm.

Next three fixtures

Rajasthan Royals
Apr 10: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Guwahati
Apr 13: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Apr 19: vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata

Mumbai Indians
Apr 12: vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai
Apr 16: vs Punjab Kings, Mumbai
Apr 20: vs Gujarat Titans, Ahmedabad

With statistical inputs from Namooh Shah

Abhijato Sensarma is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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