🏏IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians,13th Match, Guwahati 🏏

🏏IPL 2026: RR vs Mumbai Indians, 13th Match,Guwahati 🏏

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 like the 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.

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."

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

Where: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, ACA Stadium, Guwahati

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Unavailability: 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.

Tactics & Matchups: 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.

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

Team watch:

Mumbai Indians:

Injuries/Unavailability: 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.

Tactics & Matchups: 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.

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

What to expect: 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.

Head to head: 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.

Did you know?

- 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.

What they said:

"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" - Siddhartha Lahiri, 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" - Paras Mhambrey, Mumbai Indians bowling coach.

Openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal have provided explosive starts, while Dhruv Jurel has anchored the middle order effectively. Their bowling attack has also clicked, with Jofra Archer and Tushar Deshpande striking regularly and Ravi Bishnoi rediscovering rhythm with a match-winning spell in the previous outing.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, have had a mixed start, winning convincingly against KKR before falling to DC. Despite the defeat, MI are unlikely to make major changes. Skipper Hardik Pandya is expected to return, strengthening both batting and bowling. Deepak Chahar may continue ahead of Trent Boult.

With both teams boasting strong line-ups, a competitive clash is on the cards in Guwahati.

Barsapara Cricket Stadium: Pitch Report for RR vs MI, IPL 2026

The surface at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium is expected to favour teams batting second, making the toss an important factor in this contest. As seen in the first match played at the venue this season, pacers get early help from the wicket, with spinners coming into play later.

The wicket gets better for batting as the game advances, making batting second an ideal choice for the team winning the toss.

IPL 2026: RR win/loss record at Barsapara Cricket Stadium

Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals have played 7 matches in the IPL at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, out of which they have won 3 matches and lost 3. One match ended in no result.

IPL 2026: MI win/loss record at Barsapara Cricket Stadium

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will be playing their first IPL match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.

What happened in the last IPL match played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium?

The last IPL match played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati was Match 3 of IPL 2026 between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

CSK batted first in the match and posted 127 runs on the board with the help of a fighting 43-run innings from Jamie Overton.

In reply, RR, with the help of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fiery 52-run innings off just 17 balls, chased down the target with 8 wickets and 47 balls to spare.