Despite Jacob Duffy’s outstanding run with the ball in the limited opportunities, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have pulled out their trump card as Josh Hazlewood returns to the RCB playing XI for the IPL 2026 clash against the Rajasthan Royals on Friday in Guwahati.
Both RCB and RR have made one change each to their playing XIs - what are they? Find out here.
Why did Josh Hazlewood miss the first two games of IPL 2026 for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru?
The Aussie right-arm seamer missed the opening game due to a lingering back injury that has been impacting him since the end of 2025. The New South Welshman was to be one of the first names in the team sheet due to his incisiveness and outstanding new-ball bowling skills as he took 22 wickets in 12 innings at 17.54 in RCB’s drought-breaking title win. Nevertheless, Duffy did an outstanding job in Hazlewood’s absence, notably bagging figures of 4-0-22-3 on his IPL debut against the SunRisers Hyderabad to win the Player of the Match award. The New Zealand pacer did prove expensive in the game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their second home game, leaking 58 runs but also picked up two wickets.
Rajasthan Royals(Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma.
RR captain Riyan Parag revealed that Tushar Deshpande is resting, with Brijesh Sharma returning.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru(Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood.
What is the head-to-head record between the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL?
Since the 2008 edition, the two sides have battled one another on 34 occasions. The Royal Challengers hold a narrow lead, winning 17 games but three of them have ended in no result. The Royals and Royal Challengers are two of the three sides to not have lost a game so far in IPL 2026 alongside the Punjab Kings.
RCB, who are the defending champions, defeated the SunRisers Hyderabad in a home game by gunning down a chase of 201 with ease. Bengaluru proceeded to beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as the latter conceded 250 for the first time in history. Meanwhile, the Royals, led by Riyan Parag, defeated the Super Kings and the Gujarat Titans to start their campaign, followed by beating the Mumbai Indians.
Rain had already delayed the toss in Guwahati and it has returned, further postponing the start of play.