RCB Face SRH in the Opening Game of IPL 2026
The IPL 2026 season will begin with a high-profile clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
RCB come into IPL 2026 as defending champions after winning their first title last year. The Bengaluru franchise have also gone through an ownership change just a few days before the start of the new season.
SRH come in with confidence after winning their only meeting last season. This will be only the second time SRH feature in an IPL opener since 2017. RCB finished second on the points table last season while SRH finished on sixth spot.
RCB will be led by Rajat Patidar, while Ishan Kishan will captain SRH as Pat Cummins continues his recovery that led to him missing most of the Ashes and the entire 2026 T20 World Cup.
The recent head-to-head between the two teams is tight. RCB have won 3 of the last 5 matches, while SRH have won 2. The trend favours teams defending totals. 4 of the last 5 matches between these sides were won by the team batting first.
Overall, SRH lead with 14 wins, compared to RCB’s 11. SRH have 8 wins while defending and 6 while chasing. RCB have 6 wins defending and 5 chasing.
The venue is known for high scores. Chinnaswamy remains a batting-friendly ground where big totals are common. Pacers often struggle, while spinners play a key role in controlling runs.
RCB Team News – IPL 2026
RCB will start their campaign with a few setbacks. Josh Hazlewood will miss the opening games due to injury. He has already missed the Ashes and the T20 World Cup. Nuwan Thushara is also unavailable after not receiving an NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket due to fitness concerns.
Phil Salt will open alongside Virat Kohli. Overseas all-rounders Romario Shepherd and Tim David will strengthen the middle order. The final overseas slot could go to Jacob Bethell or Jacob Duffy.
Kohli remains the most important batter in the side. He scored 600+ runs last season and is the leading scorer in the IPL with 8661 runs. Salt will be expected to provide strong starts. Jitesh Sharma played crucial finishing roles last year and captained the side last year against SRH. This time, Venkatesh Iyer will solidify the batting and if he bowls, the team will have more allrounders with David, Shepherd and Krunal Pandya.
The bowling unit will rely on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya. Bhuvneshwar picked 17 wickets in 14 matches last season and is just 2 wickets away from 200 IPL wickets. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history and the only pacer in the top five. Krunal also took 17 wickets in 15 matches last season.
RCB Playing XI
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Bethell/Jacob Duffy
Impact Sub: Suyash Sharma
SRH Team News – IPL 2026
SRH also have key absentees. Pat Cummins is unavailable for the initial matches of IPL 2026, with Ishan Kishan leading the side until he’s back. Eshan Malinga is available after receiving NOC from SL, while Jack Edwards is ruled out with a foot injury. David Payne replaces him.
The top order is aggressive. Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Ishan Kishan will lead the charge. Heinrich Klaasen adds more firepower to the middle order.
Klaasen and Abhishek both scored 400+ runs last season with strike rates of 172.69 and 193.39. Kishan and Head also maintained strike rates above 150.
Stand-in skipper, Kishan arrives in top form. He scored 317 runs in 9 matches in the T20 World Cup 2026 at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of 193.29. He also scored 54 off 25 balls in the final against New Zealand.
The batting depth extends to No.7 with Liam Livingstone and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The pace attack will be led by Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat and Brydon Carse. Spin duties will fall on Harsh Dubey and Livingstone.
Cummins and Harshal took 16 wickets each last season. Malinga took 13 wickets, while Unadkat picked 11 wickets in 7 matches.
SRH Playing XI
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c, wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey
Impact Sub: Zeeshan Ansari/Shivang Kumar
What to Expect in RCB vs SRH
Expect a high-scoring contest at Chinnaswamy. Hard-hitting batters and pinch hitters will take full advantage of the surface.
The last 3 matches between these teams have seen 200+ first-innings totals. Each of those matches also produced 15+ sixes. Make more such predictions.
The previous meeting at this venue saw 287 (SRH) vs 262 (RCB), with 30+ sixes hit in the game.
With hitters like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Tim David and Phil Salt, both teams will continue attacking throughout the innings.
The small boundaries and flat pitch will favour batters again. Another run-heavy match is likely, with the team batting first holding a slight edge.