ANOTHER ONE! 3 wickets for Jacob Duffy! Nitish Kumar Reddy is gone for just 1 run off 6 balls. He goes for the big shot, miscues it completely, and an easy catch for debutant Abhinandan Singh in the circle.

SRH 29/3 (4.2)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar follows up Duffy's two-wicket over with a tidy one of his own. Concedes just 6 runs. SRH have sent Nitish Reddy up the order, to No. 4. Ishan Kishan, the stand-in-captain, is at the other end.

SRH 29/2 (4)

SIX, OUT! Travis Head is gone! Jacob Duffy has two wickets in one over! Incredible stuff. Head smashes an excellent maximum back over the bowler's head, but then perishes the very next ball. He swings hard again but gets caught at deep square-leg!

SRH 23/2 (3)

GONE! Huge wicket! Abhishek Sharma departs in the third over, and it is RCB debutant Jacob Duffy who strikes. Short from Duffy, Abhishek goes for the big swing, mistimes it, Jitesh Sharma ends up taking a great catch running backwards.

SRH 18/1 (2.1)

Inside edge, boundary! Bhuvneshwar had bowled a really tidy over, but Travis Head ends up getting a fortunate inside edge on the final ball, and picks up 4 runs. At the other end, Abhishek is struggling to time the ball.

SRH 17/0 (2)

Oh, that's close! The ball narrowly misses Abhishek's blade on his first ball, before being caught by wicket-keeper Jitesh. RCB were convinced there's an edge, they took the review, but UltraEdge confirms not out. Next ball, width offered and smashed for 6 by Abhishek!

Nevertheless, a tidy start by RCB!

SRH 7/0 (1)

We are LIVE! Jacob Duffy opens the bowling, Travis Head on strike. Abhishek Sharma at the non-striker's end. It's a tight delivery just outside off-stump, and Head just nudges it towards the off-side. No run. He gets off the mark second ball, with a flick towards fine-leg for 1.

SRH 1/0 (0.2)

The Indian national anthem plays before the start of the first match of IPL 2026. It's time for actions, folks. Sunrisers Hyderabad put in to bat, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head set to open. Stay tuned!

In the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal, it is Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh who will play alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the RCB pace attack. Interestingly, Mangesh Yadav, who was bought for Rs 5.20 crore in the auction, does not get picked today.

SRH XI vs RCB: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c/wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.

Salil Arora mentioned by Ishan Kishan during the toss. The explosive uncapped wicket-keeper batter makes his debut today, having impressed in SRH's practice games.

RCB XI vs SRH: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.

Venkatesh Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal feature among the Impact Subs. It'll be interesting to see which one among get the chance to bat.

RCB captain Rajat Patidar wins the toss and opts to bowl! The noise at the Chinnaswamy is absolutely defeaning, and it was nearly impossible to hear Ishan Kishan's call. Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh are making their debuts for RCB!

A packed house at the Chinnaswamy watches on as RCB captain Rajat Patidar enters the field of play. Ishan Kishan is there too. It's time for the toss! 

RCB's two most expensive signings at the IPL 2026 mini-auction were Venkatesh Iyer (Rs 7 crore) and Mangesh Yadav (Rs 5.20 crore). Both players have a good chance of featuring today. With Yash Dayal out, Mangesh is a like-for-like replacement. On the other hand, Venkatesh impressed with both bat and ball for RCB in their pre-season intra-squad matches.

According to reports, rain is predicted at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru tonight. Let's hope there's minimal rainfall today. Even then, the excellent drainage system at the Chinnaswamy ensures the game carries on without much of a delay.

The wait is nearly over, folks! We are just under 15 minutes away from toss time at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Rajat Patidar will lead RCB, while Ishan Kishan will lead SRH in the absence of Pat Cummins.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have arguably the deepest batting lineup in the tournament. With Liam Livingstone and Salil Arora added to the SRH roster, they could boast a batting that sees Nitish Reddy walk out at No. 8. That speaks volumes of how strong it is!

Sunrisers Hyderabad had an underwhelming season in 2025. Expected by many to challenge for the title last year, SRH endured a horrible run of form in the middle of the season, languishing towards the bottom of the table. A few late wins saw them recover to sixth, but still well behind the playoffs spots.

This time around, SRH's batting looks even stronger! Can they put together a big season in 2026?

All eyes will be on Abhishek Sharma tonight, the world's No. 1 T20I batter. When on song, there is arguably no scarier batter in world cricket. Abhishek did not enjoy the best of T20 World Cups. However, his best knock came in the final, where he smashed 52 off 21. He'll be hoping to carry that form forward to the first match of IPL 2026.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium erupts as Virat Kohli walks out for his pre-match practice. RCB's stalwart has not played a single T20I since the IPL 2025 final, having retired from the format in international cricket.

He slammed 657 runs last year. How many will he score this time around?

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be led by Ishan Kishan tonight, with regular captain Pat Cummins not fit to start the IPL 2026 season. Kishan has enjoyed a terrific few months, first leading domestic side Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 title, and then playing a pivotal role as India lifted the T20 World Cup 2026.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru players will wear black armbands today. This is in remembrance of the tragic stampede that took place near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last year, during RCB's IPL 2025 title celebrations in Bengaluru, which saw 11 people killed.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), more than any other team, have rebranded the way T20 cricket is played over the last two seasons. The four-highest totals in IPL history belong to the Sunrisers, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen regularly going berserk. 

The 300-run barrier is yet to be broken in the IPL, but it is hard to ignore that SRH look most likely to do so.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) begin their title defence today. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and co. created history in IPL 2025, bringing IPL glory to Bengaluru at long, long last. Now, they enter IPL 2026 as one of the favourites and most balanced sides in the tournament. Many are tipping them to contend for the title once again!

IPL 2026 IS HERE! The grandest cricket tournament begins today, and we are set to start off with a blockbuster clash. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on the mighty powerhitters of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Stay tuned to NDTV Sports for all the live updates from the match!