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KumarS: “Can RCB repeat what RR did after put into bat against MI because of a moist pitch?” — They definitely have the firepower. They might have a few more overs to work with too. But we will start losing overs from 8:40pm local time.
8:10pm Not entirely sure but the rain might just have increased in intensity. Looks like we won’t be starting as 8:15pm local time. The fourth umpire is chatting to a couple of members of the ground staff. Umbrellas up this time, though. And for what it is worth, only the square has been covered.
Sahil Agarwal: “I live 10 minutes away from the ground and there is no rain here so it looks like just a passing shower!!” — Just the sort of update we wanted to hear, but this passing shower is pretty steady right now.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting-first XI: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Abhinandan Singh
RCB bench: Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer
Rajasthan Royals bowling-first XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi
RR bench: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande
8:05pm Looks like this rain is heavy. The covers have been brought on swiftly. We should have been ten minutes away from the first ball but this change in scenery might now affect that. We will bring the teams to you in the meantime.
8pm It is time for the toss. Patidar and Parag out there in the middle. Parag, by virtue of being the home captain, will give the coin a spin. Patidar calls heads, but tails it is. RR will bowl first. Parag says it was supposed to be a dry wicket, but the rain means there may be a bit of moisture early. Adds that they have been very clinical, and says the message before the tournament was to play strategic cricket. Deshpande takes a rest, says Parag, with Brijesh replacing him. Today is a fresh start, he mentions, and he stresses the need to perform today again. Says he is happy with less work as long as the openers bat the way they have been batting.
Patidar gets greeted with a massive cheer. Patidar says the crowd is making them feel like this is a home ground because of their support. Duffy misses out, Hazlewood comes in. Hazlewood is an experienced player, he says, but as he is saying this, the rain starts falling. Ah, just when it felt the weather was behind us, it has begun raining again.
Mannat: “The rainfall may have subsided for now, but if prior performances from these teams are anything to go by, there’s still a thunderstorm of sixes to come. We’re going to be looking to the sky a lot tonight…”
7:45pm 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has generated plenty of hype already and rightly so. That did mean Yashasvi Jaiswal, a precociously talented youngster himself, flew under the radar slightly. But on Tuesday, Jaiswal served up a reminder that he can keep up with the wonderkid.
Vishnu: “I can see hazelwood warming up on TV. Any idea if he is playing today?” — He has been going through some light warm-ups, but this game might have come too soon for him.
7:36pm The pitch is uncovered too now, and it is being rolled by the ground staff. We might get word soon on when the toss could take place. And we indeed have a start time. Toss will be at 8pm local time, with the first ball set to be bowled at 8:15pm local time. No overs have been lost.
7:29pm The umpires now chatting to the head of the ground staff, and none of them have their umbrellas up, which is a very good sign. The big cover, encompassing the square, is coming off now. Only the cover on the pitch remains.
Nilashish: “Rain delays the game, but surely ups the chance to get your comment published.. ” — Small wins.
Prabhu : “Most of the weather apps showing no rain at the stadium?Is it a drizzle or heavy rain” — It was steady rain till a while back. Seems to have reduced to a mizzle (at best) now. Ground staff loitering around the covers, presumably to drag it off.
7:23pm Good news, folks. The ground staff has emerged and they seem to be peeling off the covers. Not very briskly but it is happening. The rain may also have eased up a touch. The super-sopper is in operation too.
Abhijeet: “@Shashwat do you have a stats on yourself as to how many wash out matches you have officiated as a commentator. I guess it is more difficult than ball by ball as you need to keep manufacturing thoughts to keep the space alive. ” — There is a running joke that I have brought rain to the IPL this week. Don’t think I possess so much power, though. Let’s put this down to coincidence, shall we?
Nilesh: “I don’t understand rationale of delaying toss.. can’t they do it outside ground to save time and in interest of giving people the maximum possible overs for worth of their ticket prices? So many revamps going in for rules, I hope this rings a bell too! ” — Don’t think this is possible. The toss needs to happen as close to the start of the game as possible to ensure there is negligible change in conditions. And it can, of course, only happen once the rain has stopped. Asking captains to make a decision based on it being a 20-overs-a-side game, only to then be asked to play a 5-over-per-side match will be a tad unfair.
7:08pm Nothing new to report, unfortunately. The rain continues to fall and it looks quite steady too. The toss, if you had missed out, has officially been delayed, and this downpour is washing away chances of an on-time start too.
VeerappaK: “Couldn’t have asked for a better start to the weekend. Its RCB!!!! Came home early from office to watch the game while grabbing some popcorn on the way only to see that its raining and the toss is delayed?? Rain rain please arrive after the game, and let them play.” — Well, at least you have something to tuck into while we wait for the rain to relent…
Rajgopal : “Will it be another disappointed day?” — The drainage was pretty good when called into question on Tuesday. So, once the rain stops, we should get cracking soon.
This is the pitch report from a while ago: Same pitch as from the RR-MI game. 65m and 66m square boundaries. 75m hit straight down the ground. Michael Clarke says the pitch looks exactly the same and is a beauty. A few dry patches under the grass, but this strip played beautifully on Tuesday. Batters will need to go hard in the powerplay, and that taking wickets throughout will be the key for the fielding side. Clarke concludes by saying that this looks like a batting paradise. Murali Kartik chimes in, saying you might not mind batting first, although that dynamic may change slightly if there is a shortened game on the cards.
6:50pm Still drizzling in Guwahati, and the RR team is in a huddle, which suggests this drizzle might not be very heavy. Well, scratch that, because the rain seems to have gotten heavier. The toss has officially been delayed too. Looks like another one of those days, unfortunately.
6:39pm Uh-oh, the pitch cover is coming on, and the ground staff are in readiness to bring out the bigger covers too. Not what we wanted to see twenty minutes away from the scheduled toss. And we can confirm that it is drizzling in Guwahati, and the ground is slowly being engulfed by covers. As of now, only the square has been covered.
Sanket: “RR bowling has been in excellent form, Archer and Burger duo with the new ball is doing great job, both has that extra pace and also are able to generate bit of movement upfront as well. Bishnoi is in red hot form and Jaddu and Sandeep chipped in whenever necessary. But this is going to be a great battle, against this incredible RCB batting unit, which has firepower, depth and versatility as well. “
6:35pm In the days leading up to IPL 2026, the conversation around RCB and RR revolved around valuations, ownership, and their much-talked-about changes of owner. Within weeks, though, the focus has shifted to on-field performances and the excitement these two sides have caused. All that and much more in Shashank Kishore’s match preview.
Virat: “Based upon current form, we may be seeing a pre-cursor to final of IPL 2026 unless we see drastic changes in form..” — Too early to talk about the final perhaps, but these two, along with the Punjab Kings, have cast themselves as early pace-setters.
6:25pm There was a lot of rain in Guwahati the last time RR were slated to play, and there was heavy rain an hour or so ago too. But the key detail is that that seems to have passed. It is currently dry in Guwahati, and both sets of players are going through their respective warm-up routines.
6:20pm And then there were two. Just the two teams with an unblemished, 100 percent record. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, defending champions, and as strong as they have probably ever been, were always expected to be one. Especially with batting depth the envy of the competition, and bowling resources most teams would trade in a jiffy.
The Rajasthan Royals did not have as vast a body of work to fall back on from last season. But their rise in 2026 has been a breath of fresh air. Their openers bat without a care in the world. Their top four is entirely and effervescently Indian, and their bowling attack has spit fire, with different match-winners turning up on different days.
But tonight is their toughest test yet. Not just because they are on a collision course with the defending champions, who won all seven away league games in 2025, but also because there is now an air of expectation around RR – that they should, at least on their own turf, beat whoever dares to challenge them.
Hello and welcome to ESPNcricinfo’s live coverage. This is Match 16, and we are back in Guwahati. RCB, swatting aside challenges like champions should, and now eyeing yet another significant scalp on the road; the Royals, buoyant about their brand of cricket, and fearing absolutely no one, even if the foe they face currently stands atop a pedestal they have not scaled since 2008.
A cracker awaits, so hop on!
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