IPL 2026: RCB vs MI Pitch Report; Check Raipur Weather Update

New Delhi: The 54th match of the 19th season of the IPL will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians on Sunday. This match will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. Rajat Patidar will captain Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Hardik Pandya will lead Mumbai Indians. 

What about the teams?

This is the first match to be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur this season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru have performed well in the current season. They have won six of their 10 matches and lost four. RCB's net run rate is +1.234. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians have won three of their 10 matches so far and are in ninth place in the points table with six points. Their hopes of reaching the playoffs are over, so they will look to salvage their reputation against RCB. This match is between the teams ranked fourth and ninth in the points table. 

A total of 35 matches have been played between Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in the history of IPL, out of which Rajasthan has won 16 matches while Mumbai Indians has won 19 matches. This is the second encounter of the season between the two. Earlier, in the match played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, RCB had defeated Mumbai by a margin of 18 runs. In the last five matches played between the two, RCB has won three and Mumbai has won two. The balance has been equal between the two in the history of the league, hence a close contest will be seen once again on Sunday.

What about the pitch?

Today, the 54th match of the 19th season of the Indian Premier League will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. This is the first match of the season at this ground. RCB has chosen it as its second home ground. The last IPL match in Raipur was played 10 years ago in 2016. Since 2018, only two T20 International matches have been played at this ground. Both teams are unfamiliar with the pitch's behavior in T20s. Fortunately, the match will be played on a fresh pitch. Although Raipur pitches are generally slow, it is expected to be good for batting. Heavy rain on Saturday will add some moisture to the pitch. Raipur will have clear weather on Sunday. The maximum temperature during the day is expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius and at night it could reach 24 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the players will have to endure the heat during the match.