Guwahati, April 7 – Skipper Hardik Pandya returned to the team as the Mumbai Indians opted to bat first against the Rajasthan Royals in Match 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, which was shortened to 11 overs per side due to rain at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
The match is scheduled to begin around two and a half hours after the originally scheduled start time of 7:30 pm, due to the heavy rain that has been affecting the city since early afternoon.
It will be a 11-overs-per-side match with the Power-play reduced to 3.2 overs or 20 balls. In each innings, four bowlers can bowl a maximum of two overs each, with one bowler allowed to bowl a maximum of three overs. There will be a 10-minute break between innings.
Besides Pandya, Mumbai also brought in pacer Trent Boult for Corbin Bosch, while Afghan spinner AM Gazanfar was also recalled. The Rajasthan Royals have remained unchanged from their previous match.
Pandya said that the pitch has been under cover, and that in a rain-affected game, it is always advantageous to bat second. He added that it is a long tournament, and that you cannot win or lose the IPL in the first few weeks.
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag said he would have also preferred to bowl first. He said that the pitch was supposed to be dry, but the rain might have changed those conditions.
Playing XIs:
Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Impact substitutes: Ashwani Kumar, Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa.