RCB vs SRH, IPL 2026: Bengaluru put Hyderabad to bat first in season opener, Know playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on March 28.

What did the captains say at the toss?

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, after winning the toss, said:

"We'll bowl first. There are a lot of good players in the side, everyone is fit and looking forward to this game. We'll try our best to put a second star on the jersey."

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Meanwhile, SRH captain Ishan Kishan, after losing the toss, said:

"Looks like a fresh wicket, doesn't matter if you bat or bowl first. You don't need to start doing something new. We need to execute our plans. Everyone looks in good touch."

SRH's Playing XI:

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga

SRH Impact subs: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain

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RCB's Playing XI:

Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

RCB Impact subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer

Pitch Report

"65 meters on one side, 64 on the other. 73 meters down the ground. Weather conditions are good. Set for a lovely, lovely, lovely batting display. The surface has got a beautiful covering of grass. Yes there are a few of bare patches. Do I think they will make too much of an impact - I'm not so sure. You see the size of these players, the muscles of these players, the sizes of their bats - these boundaries aren't big enough. You walk out to bat on a wicket like this, you stand, take guard and you say to yourself - runs. Having said that, win the toss, chase," Kevin Pietersen and Danny Morrison analysed the pitch.

RCB vs SRH Head-to-Head

Matches played: 26
RCB wins: 11
SRH wins: 13
Tie/No Result: 2