RCB eye turnaround against MI after losing momentum in IPL 2026

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to get their IPL 2026 campaign back on track when they face a struggling Mumbai Indians at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Sunday after losing momentum in the second half of the league stage.

RCB began the season strongly, winning four of their first five matches, and at one stage looked certain to cruise into the playoffs. But things have become tighter after three defeats in their last five games.

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The defending champions are currently third on the points table with 12 points from 10 matches, but the race for the playoffs has become crowded. Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans are also on 12 points, and one of them is set to move ahead of RCB after their clash in Jaipur, pushing Bengaluru down to fourth place.

More than the table situation, RCB will be concerned about their batting form. On a slightly difficult pitch in Ahmedabad, they could manage only 155 against Gujarat Titans. Even in the nine-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, the chase never really looked under control despite the close margin. RCB needed 19 runs in the final over but failed to threaten the target.

Their batting unit now faces a strong Mumbai Indians attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah, Corbin Bosch, AM Ghazanfar and Will Jacks. The pitch in Raipur, which is serving as RCB’s home venue, remains relatively unknown, making batting adaptability important.

RCB would particularly want more runs from Jacob Bethell, who replaced the injured Phil Salt. In four innings so far, Bethell has scored 14, 20, 5 and 4, putting additional pressure on Virat Kohli at the top of the order.

Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has also struggled to make an impact, with his highest score this season being 23. His lack of runs has hurt RCB’s finishing ability in the death overs.

While RCB’s batting has struggled recently, Mumbai Indians showed signs of returning to form with a successful chase of 228 against Lucknow Super Giants in their previous match.

Rohit Sharma marked his comeback from injury with a quickfire 84 off 44 balls and played a major role in that victory. He and Ryan Rickelton will again be important at the top, especially against RCB’s experienced new-ball pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood.

Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya missed the last game because of back spasms, with Suryakumar Yadav leading the side in his absence. Hardik has travelled to Raipur, but the team management will take a final call on his fitness closer to the match.

With the tournament entering its crucial phase, both teams know another defeat could seriously affect their playoff hopes.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Tim David, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jordan Cox, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Swapnil Singh, Jacob Duffy, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Mangesh Yadav, Phil Salt, Satvik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra.

Mumbai Indians: Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Sherfane Rutherford, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Keshav Maharaj, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar.