Royals' bright start set for MI examination

Rajasthan Royals have won two games in a row to kickstart their IPL 2026 campaign - a thumping victory against Chennai Super Kings followed by a come-from-behind nervy defence against Gujarat Titans. At this point they are ecstatic. Riyan Parag spoke about the merits of 'smart cricket' and 'assessing conditions' in Guwahati. Tushar Deshpande gestured that the turf belonged to him in Ahmedabad.

Siddhartha Lahiri has been around the Royals set-up for seven years. He has seen these early season successes wither away in the Indian summer every single time. No team has kickstarted the IPL season with two successive wins than Royals, and yet by the end of it, ended up without a trophy every single time.

"It's a long season, we can't get excited." Lahiri, the performance coach of the Royals, cautioned a day ahead of their second home game of the season. "We are not at all over-excited with our first two games... When we win, it all looks smart. When you lose, it looks unsmart."

Even as Royals have displayed both the ability to be dominant as well as keep calm under pressure, they would be well aware that they are far from being flawless. And to test that vulnerability, they will be up against Mumbai Indians - a team that promises to field the strong XII this season, on paper - on Tuesday.

The five-time champions, as dominant as they look on paper, had the cracks exposed by the absence of just one all-rounder in the side, against Delhi Capitals. Pandya, who was unwell, is expected to be available for the next game even though he didn't turn up for practice on Monday. But their recent problems run much deeper, most significantly as travellers. Since 2023, no team has struggled more than Mumbai Indians away from home.

Royals have the opportunity to pounce on this weakness. But they would also be aware that historical data counts for little. In all likelihood, they might be against the strongest side MI has fielded since their title-victory in 2020.

For all the two-match mini-success so far, Lahiri summed it up well: "The bad news, even here, you have to turn up fresh."

Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 7: 30 PM IST

Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, ACA Stadium, Guwahati

In the six IPL games hosted in Guwahati, the average first innings total has been 167, with teams batting first winning thrice. There was a bit of movement on offer early on in the surface the last time a game was played here. But if the teams manage to see through the early threat, expect a high-scoring contest. Chasing teams have won as many IPL games at the venue as teams batting first, so there isn't a significant toss advantage. However, there could be a possibility of some interruptions with scattered thunderstorms predicted for Tuesday, making fielding an easier option for captains.

Despite MI's historical success in the league, they only have a minor edge over Rajasthan Royals, with a 16-14 head-to-head record. Since 2021, they have beaten Royals in five out of eight games.

Hardik Pandya, who was unwell and missed out the game against Delhi Capitals, has returned to full fitness and is expected to be available for the clash against Royals. However, he wasn't spotted at practice on Monday.

Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Shimron Hetmyer six times in a 23-ball face-off between the two players in T20s, conceding only 17 runs in the process.

Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickleton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mayank Markande

No injuries have been reported, but Shubham Dubey spent a long time in the nets on Monday, with batting coach Vikram Rathore keeping a close watch on him.

Sandeep Sharma may not be the threatening new-ball swing bowler he once was, but he holds the key for the early damage against MI. The veteran pacer has dismissed Rohit Sharma five times and Suryakumar Yadav four times in T20s, conceding only 71 runs against the duo in 76 balls. He could provide an early threat to the MI top-order.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi

- This is the eigth time Rajasthan Royals have won the first two games of the season - most by any team.

- Mumbai Indians have won only 9 out of their 24 games away from home since 2023, and they have the worst win-loss ratio (0.6) among all the teams in this period.

- Since 2020, MI has just won 4 games out of 25 while defending a target of 180 or below in IPL.

"It's still very early days for us. We have just played two games. We played two games, we have done well. It's a long season... We are not at all over excited with our first two games" - , Performance Coach, Rajasthan Royals.

"As the practice has evolved in the game and the world, it's equally important for the bowlers to evolve as well... Two-three years back, you wouldn't have said that 200 plus or 250 plus are the target. The game is evolving. The bowlers have to evolve as well" - , Mumbai Indians bowling coach.