Many high-scoring matches have been seen between Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the last few years. In 2024, a historic match of 287 vs 262 was played between the two teams. Apart from this, Royal Challengers Bangalore have also made big scores like 206 and Sunrisers Hyderabad 231/6. In such a situation, fans can once again see rain of fours and sixes.

RCB’s bowling became weak
However, this time the bowling of both the teams looks a bit weak. Royal Challengers Bangalore have suffered a major blow as their star fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will not be available in the initial matches. Yash Dayal is also out of the entire season. In such a situation, there will be a big responsibility on experienced bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Young bowlers like Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav and Rasikh Salam may get a chance in the team.

Hyderabad’s bowling also lacked
On the other hand, the bowling of Sunrisers Hyderabad is also not looking very strong. The team will be led by Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel, while Braydon Carse and Ishan Malinga will be in support roles.

Kohli will have a big responsibility
RCB’s batting looks very strong. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt are looking in great form. SRH also has aggressive batsmen like Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Especially everyone’s eyes will be on Abhishek Sharma and Phil Salt.

IPL returns after stampede in Bengaluru
This match is also going to be emotional. Cricket is returning to Chinnaswamy Stadium after about 10 months. On June 4 last year, 11 people were killed in a stampede outside the stadium during Bengaluru’s victory celebrations. This time RCB players will come on the field wearing black bands in the memory of those people.

Ishaan will captain for Hyderabad
Talking about the team combination, the playing eleven of Royal Challengers Bangalore is considered almost fixed, but there is some confusion regarding the selection of foreign players. Heinrich Klaasen will bat at number 4 in Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was confirmed by coach Daniel Vettori.

Talking about the pitch, Chinnaswamy’s pitch has always been helpful for the batsmen. However, there has not been a match here for a long time, so there may be some uncertainty in the beginning. The weather will be warm and the effect of dew is not likely to be much.

Both teams would like to start the season with a win. While RCB will be looking to defend their title, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to correct the mistakes of last season. In such a situation, the opening match of IPL 2026 is going to be full of thrill.