.jpeg "IPL 2026, Match 1: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Match Preview")
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday, March 28.
The home team comes in as defending champion and will be looking to maintain the same formula throughout the 2026 season as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the more exciting teams of the IPL in the last two seasons, playing a blistering brand of cricket which resulted in a place in the finals in 2024, where they were comprehensively beaten by the Kolkata Knight Riders.
RCB have retained the same core from their title-winning season, with new faces including the high-profile signing of Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore and the addition of Jacob Duffy, New Zealand’s new star pacer.
SRH have made changes to their squad, with the addition of England all-rounder Liam Livingstone and exciting Indian prospects like Salil Arora and Shivang Kumar.
Both teams will be without their star Australian quicks. Josh Hazlewood, although having joined the squad, is set to miss the first few games of the season after missing the Ashes and the T20 World Cup. Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins missed the T20 World Cup and played just one Ashes Test, as he nurses a lumbar stress issue. He is set to miss the first half of the tournament and hopes to be fit for the second.
In Cummins’ absence, Ishan Kishan is set to lead the Hyderabad franchise. The Southpaw led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, finishing the tournament with the most runs. He was then picked for India’s T20 World Cup campaign, where he was vital at No. 3. He will be deputised by Abhishek Sharma. Rajat Patidar is set to continue as Bengaluru skipper, with hopes being on him to lead his team to another trophy.
RCB vs SRH: Match Details
| Match | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Match 01, IPL 2026. |
| Venue | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| Date & Time | Saturday, March 28, 2026, 7:30 PM (IST) |
| Live Broadcasting & Streaming Details | JioStar Network Channels, JioHotstar (App & Website) |
RCB vs SRH: Head-to-Head record
| Matches Played | 26 |
| Won by RCB | 11 |
| Won by SRH | 10 |
| Tie/NR | 01 |
| First-ever fixture | April 07, 2013 (SRH Won) |
| Most recent fixture | May 23, 2025 (SRH Won) |
Pitch Report: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
M Chinnaswamy Stadium is famously dubbed a “batter’s paradise” due to pitches being of a flatter nature and the dimensions of the ground being smaller. Traditionally a black-soil wicket, the pitch plays consistently throughout the entire game. The wicket offers early help for the seamers and has historically been conducive to hit-the-deck bowling. Dew is to play a part in the later stages of the innings, but with the IPL taking measures to reduce the impact of dew, bowlers will get assistance in the second half as well.
RCB vs SRH: Predicted Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy
Impact Player: Mangesh Yadav/
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (C & WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Brydon Carse, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat
Impact Player: Salil Arora/Zeeshan Ansari
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Doonited Affiliated: Syndicate News Hunt
This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been modified or edited by Doonited
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