IPL 2026: Match 16, RR vs RCB Match Prediction – Who will win today’s IPL match between Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru?

Published - 09 Apr 2026, 23:15 IST | Updated - 09 Apr 2026, 23:26 IST

A battle royale is on the cards as Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be going up against each other in Match No. 16 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Friday, April 10, at the ACA Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Rajasthan Royals have been on a rampage this season. They started off by defeating the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings, followed by an easy win against Gujarat Titans. In their third and the most recent clash, they beat Mumbai Indians, another team with five titles, to show that the 2008 champions are determined to lift their long-awaited second trophy.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on the other hand, have been as dominant as any other team in IPL 2026. They opened their account with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and then beat the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK in the battle between the arch-rivals to set the perfect start to the title defence. With their clash against RR, the Rajat Patidar-led side would not only want to win their third straight tie, but also break RR's streak.

In the previous match played at the ACA Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the team batting first posted a mammoth total in the first innings, but the chasing side failed to catch momentum by finding boundaries every now and then. This indicates that the pitch gets slower to bat as the match progresses, which hints that the team winning the toss should ideally be opting to defend the target here.

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

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy

After scoring an unbeaten half-century in the tournament opener, Virat Kohli has thrown away his wicket despite getting good starts. In the upcoming match at Guwahati, Kohli will look to register a big score, which will not only give him immense confidence but also set the perfect platform for RCB, who are currently unbeaten in the 2026 edition of the tournament.

If 'underrated' is to be used for a bowler, Sandeep Sharma definitely fits the bill. During the previous clash against Mumbai Indians, Sandeep once again proved his class, sending back the dangerous Rohit Sharma for a paltry score to bring his team into the contest during RR's target defence. His matchup against Virat Kohli is also quite an interesting one, so it will be intriguing to see who gets the better of whom on Friday.