Rajasthan Royals will be hosting Mumbai Indians today (April 7) in Guwahati. The Royals have four points and two wins from two matches while Mumbai Indians have won one and lost one. The Riyan Parag-led side first defeated Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati after their bowlers rattled the opposition and then the batters showed thorough dominance.
The team then travelled to Ahmedabad for the next fixture against Gujarat Titans. The batters once again put up a brilliant show to post 210/6. However, first Sai Sudharsan and then Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada tried to keep the Titans in the race but couldn’t take the side over the line. GT lost by 6 runs.
Mumbai Indians, on the other side, started off the IPL 2026 on a positive note beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 wickets after the batters put up a stunning show. KKR had handed a target of 221 to MI that the side chased down on the first ball of the final over by 6 wickets.
The MI then travelled to Delhi to face the Capitals. Mumbai Indians put up 162/6 in 20 overs. Delhi Capitals then chased down the target after a batting masterclass from Sameer Rizvi.
Mumbai Indians were without their regular skipper Hardik Pandya in the last game who had missed out the fixture against the Capitals as he was “unwell”. Mumbai made a couple of changes in that match, bringing in Deepak Chahar and Corbin Bosch, while Trent Boult was left out to maintain the overseas player balance.
𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XmqK4AnHXb
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 6, 2026
However, the 32-year-old Pandya looked in good rhythm during a training session in Guwahati on Sunday night. The all-rounder began with bowling drills, focusing on yorkers and hitting consistent lines at a brisk pace.
During the session, he mentioned to team physiotherapist Nitin Patel that he had been working extensively on his yorkers since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, believing that mastering them makes other deliveries easier to execute.
He later spent time in the nets with the bat under the watchful eyes of batting coach Kieron Pollard. Pandya appeared comfortable, timing the ball well and showing no visible discomfort.
Who Comes in Playing XI if Hardik Pandya isn’t Fit?
The Mumbai Indians had included Deepak Chahar and Corbin Bosch in the Playing XI after Hardik Pandya had missed out. While Chahar put up a good show with the ball as he returned with 1/20 in three overs, Bosch leaked runs at a massive pace and was hit for 39 in 3.1 overs.
If Hardik doesn’t play, MI might continue with Chahar in the XI and bring back Trent Boult instead of Bosch.
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 6, 2026
Predicted Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar, Shardul Thakur
Impact Player: Mayank Markande
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Impact Player: Ravi Bishnoi
Also Read: “This Is Not What We Sold”: Lalit Modi Slams BCCI Over ₹2,400 Crore IPL ‘Loss’
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