Hardik Pandya chooses to bowl first as MI face CSK in IPL 2026 opener

Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in the first IPL 2026 clash between the teams.

Captains' toss decision Hardik Pandya called heads during the toss and decided to bowl first in the opening match of IPL 2026 against Chennai Super Kings. He also decided to field the same playing XI that defeated Gujarat Titans three days earlier. Rohit Sharma’s ongoing injury meant he was still unavailable for selection. Chennai Super Kings made one change to their side, but MS Dhoni remained sidelined once again. ## Pitch and team perspectives Both skippers preferred to bowl in the high-stakes encounter between two five-time champions. Ruturaj Gaikwad confirmed Prashant Veer was introduced for Matt Short, though the official team sheet listed Kartik Sharma instead of Veer. Hardik Pandya described the pitch as looking green but noted it played fairly well. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are both languishing near the bottom of the standings, drawing scrutiny over their recent performances. ## Captaincy and injury concerns Ruturaj Gaikwad faces intense scrutiny as his batting form has declined and his captaincy has resulted in four losses from six games. He has also dealt with multiple key absences, including Mumbai player Ayush Mhatre and new-ball bowler Khaleel Ahmed. Mumbai Indians still lack the returns of Rohit Sharma, while Chennai Super Kings continue without MS Dhoni. This marks the first-ever MI vs CSK match without either Rohit Sharma or MS Dhoni on the field. ## Playing XIs and impact options Mumbai Indians named their XI with Quinton de Kock as wicketkeeper, followed by Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya leading the side. The rest of the lineup included Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, and Ashwani Kumar. They retained impact player options like Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Shardul Thakur, Danish Malewar, and Mayank Rawat. Chennai Super Kings fielded Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain and Sanju Samson as wicketkeeper, supported by Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Gurjapneet Singh, and Mukesh Choudhary. Their impact player pool featured Prashant Veer, Matt Short, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, and Urvil Patel.