IPL 2026, Match 13: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians Match Preview

Published - 06 Apr 2026, 12:39 IST | Updated - 06 Apr 2026, 12:52 IST

The in-form Rajasthan Royals (RR) return to the Barsapara Cricket Stadium to face the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 13 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Tuesday, April 7. Both sides are coming on the back of contrasting forms from their previous fixture.

RR have notched up two wins from their opening two matches of the new season. After convincingly beating the Chennai Super Kings in their first game, they secured a nervy six-run victory over the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. The inaugural champions have a strong batting unit comprising a powerful opening pair of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, with captain Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel joining suit. Their new-ball attack is also one to watch out for, with Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger bowling in tandem.

MI, on the other hand, are coming off the back of a disappointing defeat at the hands of the Delhi Capitals. The five-time champions are currently sixth in the standings, having earned their first two points of the 2026 season with a win against Kolkata Knight Riders. MI will once again be relying on their Indian core to come good, with captain Hardik Pandya expected to return to the lineup. The return to Mitchell Santner is also crucial, giving them the spin option, which allows them to play three Indian seamers, along with Trent Boult.

Both MI and RR are extremely close on paper. Fans can, therefore, expect a closely fought encounter in Guwahati on Tuesday evening. A win for RR would solidify their place as one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs, while Mumbai would desperately want to quickly recover from their underwhelming display against DC in New Delhi.

The pitch at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium tends to favour the side batting second in the game under the floodlights. With Assam usually having overcast weather, bowlers can make use of these conditions to get early swing and trouble the opening batters with the new ball.

This was evident when Archer and Burger got the better of the CSK top order to put RR firmly on top early on. The boundaries at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium tend to be on the smaller side, allowing batters to score big once they have negated the early passage of play.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma

Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah