Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bat first against Delhi Capitals in tonight’s IPL 2026 fixture at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur — a decision driven by a dry, potentially two-paced surface that captain Riyan Parag expects to slow down as the match progresses and favour the batting side in the first innings.
The toss call explained
Parag was candid at the toss. “It’s not the usual Jaipur wicket. It’s a bit dry — we noticed that yesterday and the pitch played a little faster the other day. So hopefully it gets a little slow in the back end, so that’s why we’re batting first.” The logic is sound — on a drying surface with variable pace, batting first banks runs before any deterioration sets in and leaves Delhi chasing on a track that could increasingly assist the spinners.
Axar Patel, Delhi’s captain, acknowledged three changes to his side but remained upbeat about chasing. “The wicket looks good and we’re happy to chase. It’s important to return to basics. Attitude and body language are very important,” he said.
The XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan
Impact subs for Rajasthan: Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka, Ravi Singh, Yash Raj Punja, Tushar Deshpande
The key selection calls
The most significant Rajasthan selection story is Jofra Archer’s return to the XI, alongside Ravi Bishnoi coming back in and Shubham Dubey earning a place in the main playing eleven — a more attacking, balanced combination that Parag believes can post a complete performance across 40 overs. “We haven’t been playing proper and complete cricket for 40 overs. Hopefully we can narrow it down as the tournament reaches the business end,” he said.
The standout batting subplot is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal — the teenage sensation who took the IPL by storm earlier in the tournament sharing the powerplay with one of India’s most exciting young openers. If the two fire together at the top, Delhi’s attack faces a daunting first six overs.
Delhi have made three changes — Mitchell Starc is in while Dushmantha Chameera misses out, Pathum Nissanka plays with David Miller sitting out, and Ashutosh Sharma comes in. Axar retains Kuldeep Yadav and Natarajan as his frontline spin and pace options alongside the express pace of Starc and Kyle Jamieson.
Key battles to watch
Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi vs Starc and Jamieson in the powerplay is the match-defining contest. If the Royals openers get going, Delhi’s middle-overs attack will be under pressure. Conversely, Kuldeep Yadav on a dry, potentially turning Jaipur surface against Riyan Parag and Donovan Ferreira in the middle overs could be decisive. And with Jofra Archer available for Rajasthan, Delhi’s top order faces one of the most dangerous pace threats in the competition.