IPL 2026, Match 1 - RCB vs SRH: Toss Update and Playing XI

It is time for the most popular T20 franchise league in the world, as IPL 2026 starts from Saturday evening (March 28) with the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), which is being hosted at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

RCB are the defending champions of the IPL 2026, as they won their first trophy in the IPL 2025. It was their fourth IPL Final and fifth overall Final, where they recorded their first trophy after beating the Punjab Kings by six runs in the last over thriller.

Recently, RCB got new owners as  Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (ToI), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone's perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone) bought the complete franchise from the United Spirits Limited (USL) for the record valuation of USD 1.78 billion, close to INR 16,700 crore. 

Meanwhile, the cricket fans had high expectations from SRH for the IPL 2025, as the IPL 2016 champions had hugely impressed with their stormy on-field batting performances, which made them a dominant team. They finished the IPL 2024 as the runners-up after KKR beat them in the Final by eight wickets. However, in the IPL 2025, they finished in sixth position with 13 points in 14 games, with six wins, one no result, and seven defeats. They had a poor beginning in the IPL 2025, winning only three matches in the first 10 games. Although they made a strong comeback, it was too late for them. 

Rajat Patidar-led RCB, who created history for the franchise last season, are set to defend the title, while Ishan Kishan is set to lead SRH in the match in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, who is injured at present. Ishan is making his IPL leadership debut from the game. 

See Also: CSK suffer massive blow: Injured MS Dhoni set to miss early IPL 2026

IPL 2026, Match 1 - RCB vs SRH: Toss Update

There was a huge roar after RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss, as the home skipper chose to field first. Meanwhile, SRH captain Ishan Kishan also confirmed that he would choose to bowl first in the match. 

IPL 2026, Match 1 - RCB vs SRH: Playing XIs

RCB playing XI

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (Captain), Jitesh Sharma (wk), 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

SRH playing XI

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (Captain & wk), 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