Pat Cummins’ big decision at toss STUNS Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 Eliminator, Jadeja returns for RR

Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (2026) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, on Wednesday.

Sunrisers Hyderabad made one change to their XI, bringing in Praful Hinge in place of Salil Arora. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Royals also tweaked their combination with Ravindra Jadeja replacing Shubham Dubey in the starting lineup.

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Pat Cummins said the experience of playing high-pressure matches can help players stay relaxed heading into a big fixture, but stressed that Sunrisers Hyderabad’s recent form was a bigger positive. The SRH captain added that the side prefers to keep plans with the ball “very simple”, only targeting specific batters when needed. Confirming one change to the XI, Cummins said Praful Hinge returns to the side. Unfazed by the pressure of chasing at the venue, Cummins backed SRH’s batting strength, saying they had won plenty of games batting second and were ready to “have a crack first with the ball.”

Riyan Parag admitted he was “a little undecided” at the toss and said he would probably have preferred to bowl first. The Rajasthan Royals skipper also confirmed he was fit to play. RR made one change to their XI, Ravindra Jadeja slots into the starting side with Shubham Dubey moved to the Impact Player bench.

Playing XIs:

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

Impact substitutes: Shubham Dubey, Sushant Mishra, Amanal Perala, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge

Impact substitutes: Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel

Also Read: IPL 2026, RR vs SRH Eliminator: Anil Kumble backs fearless Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for BIG knockout performance

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals Match prediction:

Now, it’s high time to discuss the match prediction for this game. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals had met 23 times before, where SRH won 14 games and GT also won 9 games out of them. It will be interesting to see them play for the 24th time in eliminator.

However, the match will be played in Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium. According to the pitch conditions, whoever bats first is likely to struggle in the match. But, the favorites of this would be the team who chase. The team who field in this match are likely to win the match and face Gujarat Titans to qualify for the finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

(With IANS Inputs)