Rajasthan Royals choose to bat first as Mitchell Starc makes IPL debut in 2026

Rajasthan Royals elect to bat first after winning the toss, with Mitchell Starc included in Delhi Capitals' XI for his first IPL match in 2026.

RR's toss decision The Rajasthan Royals made a notable call at the toss, choosing to bat first in a night fixture where they previously failed to defend 228 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Captain Riyan Parag explained that the dry pitch with uneven grass influenced their choice, while the strong breeze at toss time reduced concerns about dew affecting play. Regardless of the decision, Delhi Capitals were expected to chase down any target they set had they won the toss. ## Starc's long-awaited debut The highly anticipated return of Mitchell Starc marked the biggest talking point, with the left-arm pacer finally deemed fit to play his first match of the IPL season. His inclusion forced Dushmantha Chameera out of the Delhi Capitals squad. Earlier in the tournament, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had launched Jasprit Bumrah for a first-ball six, followed by a boundary off Sunil Narine’s second delivery, before hammering four fours in his first four balls against Josh Hazlewood, the veteran Australian speedster. ## DC's batting reshuffle Delhi Capitals made a pair of adjustments to their top order after being bowled out for just 75 in their previous game. Sahil Parakh’s failure prompted the recall of Pathum Nissanka to open the innings. With an extra overseas player available through Starc’s inclusion, the franchise had to drop one of their four overseas specialists, resulting in David Miller being left out of the playing XI. ## RR's strategic changes Rajasthan Royals rewarded Shubham Dubey’s reliable performance by naming him in the starting XI during their recent chase of 223 against Punjab Kings, pushing Dasun Shanaka to the bench. This left room for an Impact Player option, which could be Adam Milne if they opted to introduce an overseas fast bowler while defending a total. The Royals also executed a straight swap between veteran legspinner Ravi Bishnoi and rookie Yash Raj Punja, aiming to restore Bishnoi’s confidence after Punja had posted better economy figures in his limited two appearances. ## Starting XIs announced Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt.), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Shubham Dubey, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Brijesh Sharma RR bench: Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka, Ravi Singh, Yash Raj Punja, Tushar Deshpande Delhi Capitals: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Sameer Rizvi, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Nitish Rana, 6 Axar Patel (capt.), 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 T Natarajan DC bench: Vipraj Nigam, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Auqib Nabi, David Miller