RR Vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2026: Jurel-Sooryavanshi Steer Royals To Victory | Rajasthan 202/4 (18), Bengaluru 201/8

Greetings and welcome, folks! We are building up to the start of the 16th match of the IPL 2026 season between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Watch this space for team news, toss and live updates.

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Shubham Dubey, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Singh, Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka, Kuldeep Sen, Sushant Mishra, Kwena Maphaka, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao Perala

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer, Josh Hazlewood, Mangesh Yadav, Swapnil Singh, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Satvik Deswal

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have a slender 17-14 lead over Rajasthan Royals in the H2H contest.

Toss is few minutes away and we will know the Playing XIs from the game that promises to be a mouth-watering affair.

Rain has got much heavier in Guwahati and it seems the toss has been delayed.

Finally some good news! Rain has stopped and the ground staff are now using the super soppers to get the water out so that we can finally have some action in.

Official word from the ground: The game is officially back on. The covers are off the field. The toss is now scheduled for 8:00 PM, and the first ball will be bowled at 8:15 PM.

Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field.

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood

Slight drizzle and it seems covers are brought on again. This is frustrating from the players and fans point of view.

Finally some action. First ball to be bowled at 8:40pm IST.

Phil Salt dismissed on zero with Jofra Archer removing the Englishman on the very first ball of the match. Some start for the RR side but Guwahati fans will be happy that their star player, Virat Kohli is still at the crease.

RCB: 13/1 (1 Over)

Devdutt Padikkal has to walk back after a promising start to his innings. The southpaw made 14 (7) but cannot convert it after his aerial shot that was brilliantly taken by Shimron Hetmyer.

RCB: 45/2 (3 Overs)

Guwahati falls silent after Ravi Bishnoi ends Virat Kohli's entertaining knock of 32 off 16 balls. Bishnoi cleans up Kohli's stumps after the latter failed to read the spinner's arm ball.

RCB: 58/3 (5 Overs)

Krunal Pandya does not stay for long as he makes the long walk back to the hut with one run as Ravi Bishnoi dismisses the all-rounder. RR are all over the defending champions and another wicket in the middle-overs could see them take charge of the game.

RCB: 72/4 (8 Overs)

RR are all over this game. Tim David has arrived to the crease and whacked few boundaries. However, one may feel that couple of wickets and RR are in this game with Royal Challengers Bengaluru struggling for a partnership.

RCB: 89/5 (10 Overs)

Tim David's wicket puts the onus on Rajat Patidar to anchor the innings and take his team towards a respectable total. He has Romario Shepherd for company as the Indo-West Indies pair look to see out the remaining few overs.

RCB: 119/6 (13 Overs)

Romario Shepherd is the latest to fall and leaving the onus on Rajat Patidar to deliver the goods. The RCB captain has to take his team towards a big total if not a respectable one. 150 looks miles away now.

RCB: 139/7 (15 Overs)

Rajat Patidar fifty has taken his side post 150-plus score. A captain's innings from Patidar who has delivered right when his team required the most.

RCB: 166/7 (17 Overs)

Struggling for runs? Royal Challengers Bengaluru prove once again why are they the defending champs, as they register 201 on the board. Everyone thought that RCB were down and out at 125/7 but Rajat Patidar has lifted his side and given them some hope.

Yashasvi Jaiswal's stay at the crease ends as Josh Hazlewood removes the dangerous batter on 13. Australian pacer, who returns to the side, finds a nick off Jaiswal's bat who ends up hitting into the gloves of Jitesh Sharma.

RR: 21/1 (2 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Sooryavanshi has hit a 15-ball fifty as the young star takes on the RCB bowlers. His blitzkrieg has seen him cross 73 inside the PP and if he remains there for a longer time, the more chances RR have finishing this game quickly.

RR: 73/1 (5 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

RCB bowlers don't know what has hit them! Sooryavanshi has joined forces with Dhruv Jurel as the two batters look to finish this game off in a jiffy! Both the RR batters are going over 10 rpo and Rajat Patidar seems to find himself in a perplexed state of mind.

RR: 111/1 (7 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Josh Hazlewood has scalped two wickets in an over with the dismissals of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shimron Hetmyer. After the young batter's early exploits, Hazlewood's two-wicket burst has put the game back in anyone's favour.

RR: 132/3 (9 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Riyan Parag goes and RCB are right back in this contest. Rajasthan Royals need 65 runs in 60 balls but some wickets in these coming overs and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be in with a sniff. Josh Hazlewood has really swung the momentum in RCB's favour.

RR: 137/4 (10 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Dhruv Jurel remains key for Royals if they are chase down the 202 target. Eight overs remain and the inaugural champions need one good partnership if they are to secure a victory tonight.

RR: 145/4 (12 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

RCB need wickets with Rajasthan Royals requiring 39 runs in 36 balls. Jadeja and Jurel are batting sensibly and not going for any spectacular shot. Patidar needs to find some magical moment if he has any.

RR: 163/4 (14 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Rajasthan Royals need 18 runs in 24 balls. This should be an easy chase for RR. Dhruv Jurel has batted well for his half-century and has found decent company in veteran Ravindra Jadeja.

RR: 184/4 (16 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

Royals are 11 runs away from victory. What an emphatic win this could be for the inaugural champions. They are looking a team to beat this season. Too early to call but on paper they look as the most balanced side.

RR: 191/4 (17 Overs)

RCB: 201/8 (20 Overs)

What a performance this is from Rajasthan Royals! They are seriously looking a team to beaten this campaign. Their opening batters are providing the perfect platform whereas the bowling combo of Archer and Burger have been seriously good. RCB beaten for the first time this season.

Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wkts

I think the way we started in the powerplay, those initial wickets, and from there, 202, I think thats a positive sign for us. And at the same time, the way their batters, especially Vaibhav, batted in the powerplay, I think that made a huge difference. I think the way we are,  I think in our last matches that was brilliant. But I think there are a lot of learnings from this game. I don’t think that much because Venky, Shepi (Shepherd) and KP were there. So I think we had to manage those overs with all three bowlers. I don’t think that made a huge difference. I think if you are playing this kind of competitive cricket, especially in the IPL, there will be errors. But the important thing is how you look at it, you have to learn from your mistakes.

Sir, not just me, everyone must have enjoyed it. Like Vaibhav didn’t bat today, but when he does, it feels like facing someone like Jasprit Bumrah becomes easy. Watching him, it feels like there’s nothing happening in the pitch, so you can take your chances. And today it turned out that way. No sir, I was just trying. I’ve worked on this last year when I was batting lower down the order. This time, the management gave me an opportunity to bat higher. They told me to just believe in myself, keep playing my shots and not overthink. The game is on me, so just back myself. Honestly, it’s hard to understand. Seriously, you’re just in awe, how can someone hit like that. It makes you think, we’re batting on the same pitch, why doesn’t it feel the same for us. He’s a great talent. No sir, the best thing is not to tell him anything. Let him play the way he does. We just feel lucky that he’s in our team. Sir, I think we’ve started well. As the tournament progresses, the middle order will also step up. In the practice matches, everyone contributed and looked in good touch. Hopefully, their big knocks will come soon. Sir, like I said earlier, if Vaibhav gets going in the powerplay, it makes things easier for us. And if it looks easy, then it becomes fun to watch as well.