Rain To Play Spoilsport In RR vs MI Clash In Guwahati? What Weather Report Says
There is a threat of rain in the IPL 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 witnessed its first abandoned game on Monday as the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in Kolkata got washed out due to rain. There's a chance Tuesday's blockbuster clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium also experiences a similar fate. The city of Guwahati in the northeastern Indian city of Assam has experienced on-and-off rainfall in the lead-up to the game. But how high are the chances of rain?
According to AccuWeather, there is an Orange Alert for lightning in the hours leading up to the game. However, fortunately for fans, the chances of rain gets lesser as the evening progresses.
There is a 28% chance of rain at 5:00 PM IST, which is two hours before toss time. However, that falls to just 6% by 7:00 PM IST and stays that way through the evening.
Interestingly, cloud cover is also expected to significantly decrease as the evening progresses, predicted to go from 100% at 6:00 PM IST to 0% by 9:00 PM IST.
Therefore, as per the prediction, even if there's some rain during toss time or at the start of the game, it should subside eventually and majority of play should be possible.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya returned to training ahead of the Mumbai Indians' upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, boosting hopes of his availability after missing the side's previous fixture due to illness.
Notably, the Mumbai Indians' full-time skipper had sat out the away game against the Delhi Capitals, with Suryakumar Yadav stepping in as captain. At the toss, Suryakumar confirmed that Pandya was "unwell", forcing the team to reshuffle their combination, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Mumbai made a couple of changes in that match, bringing in Deepak Chahar and Corbin Bosch, while Trent Boult was left out to maintain the overseas player balance.
However, the 32-year-old Pandya looked in good rhythm during a training session in Guwahati on Sunday night. The all-rounder began with bowling drills, focusing on yorkers and hitting consistent lines at a brisk pace.
During the session, he mentioned to team physiotherapist Nitin Patel that he had been working extensively on his yorkers since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, believing that mastering them makes other deliveries easier to execute.
He later spent time in the nets with the bat under the watchful eyes of batting coach Kieron Pollard. Pandya appeared comfortable, timing the ball well and showing no visible discomfort.
With ANI inputs
Mumbai Indians
Rajasthan Royals