After Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026 eliminator, RR skipper Ryan Parag confirmed a major fitness concern at the toss. Parag revealed that he is not fully fit for the high-pressure knockout encounter but insisted that Rajasthan have no option but to try their best to win. “We would have bowled first because it is a good ground to chase. It is a good ground because we have chased and defended. I am ineligible to play. We still have no other option but to win. If we play to our potential, I am happy with the team’s performance. Jaddu is back in the XI, Dubey is an impressive player,” Parag said at the toss. SRH captain Pat Cummins said Hyderabad are not thinking too much about the pressure despite entering the competition having defeated Rajasthan twice earlier this season. “We will bowl first. I think we have played some good cricket recently, we will try to keep our bowling simple and let them play to their strengths. The hinge is back. I think we are not worried about the pressure, it is a good ground to chase,” Cummins said. This match, to be held at the PCA New International Stadium, has huge stakes, in which the winning team will advance to the playoffs and the losing team will be out of IPL 2026. The journey of both the teams has been a mirror of each other this season. Rajasthan Royals started with four consecutive wins, but the pace of their campaign slowed down after a crushing defeat to SRH at the start of the league stage. Ironically, that same game helped turn around Hyderabad’s season, when they lost three of their opening four matches.Teams:Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge.Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ryan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Joffra Archer, Nandre Berger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja. Now, with SRH already holding a 2-0 record over Rajasthan this season, the Royals will face their toughest challenge yet in a do-or-die knockout encounter.
