Josh Hazlewood missed out ad Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Mumbai Indians in the 20th match of the Indian Premier League 2026. Hazlewood, who made a much-awaited return to the side for the previous game against Rajasthan Royals, is the only change made by RCB for this game at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first as MI made two changes. Mitchell Santner and Mayank Markande came in for Deepak Chahar and Allah Ghazanfar. Meanwhile, RCB captain Rajat Patidar also wanted to field first. Patidar revealed that his team has made only one change with Jacob Duffy coming in for Hazlewood. There was no reason given by RCB for this change and it might be a tactical one or a cautious one as Hazlewood has just recovered from an injury.
What Patidar said at the toss?
Patidar confirmed the absence of the big Australian gun for this game. “Obviously would have bowled first. But as you all know, itโs a good batting track. The ball comes nicely onto the bat with good bounce. So honestly, it wonโt make too much difference. Weโll try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. This is our fourth game. The way weโve played the last few matches, there are a lot of positives. In the last match, we were 97 for 6 and still managed to score over 200. Thatโs a positive sign for us. We enjoy it a lot here. Whenever we come, we see great crowds. Itโs challenging, but at the same time, fun and exciting. Just one change, Duffy comes in place of Hazlewood,” Patidar said at the toss.
Meanwhile, Hardik opened up on his team combinations after opting to bowl first. “Weโre going to bowl first. Looks like a good track. We played the first game on the other pitch, this looks similar. Itโs always good to bat second here. I think itโs a big game. Just want to come out and play our best cricket, do the things weโve spoken about in the meetings, and just enjoy the sport. We requested good wickets and weโve been getting them. As long as you land the ball right as a bowler and play the right shots as a batter, youโre in the game. Over the years at Wankhede, chasing has worked for a lot of teams. Being our home ground, dew comes in later as well. So itโs good to know what youโre chasing, you can plan your innings accordingly. Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner come in for Chahar and Ghazanfar,” Hardik said at the toss.