Guwahati, April 7 (IANS) Skipper Hardik Pandya returned to the side as the Mumbai Indians elected to bowl first against the Rajasthan Royals in a rain-shortened 11-overs-a-side Match 13 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.

The match is set to start around two and a half hours after the scheduled start of 7.30 pm because of rain that lashed the city since early afternoon.

It will be an 11-overs-per-side match with the Power-play reduced to 3.2 overs or 20 balls. In each innings, four bowlers can bowl a maximum of two overs each, with one bowler allowed to bowl a maximum of three overs. There will be a 10-minute break between innings.

Besides Pandya, Mumbai also brought in pacer Trent Boult for Corbin Bosch, while Afghan spinner AM Gazanfar too was recalled. Rajasthan Royals are unchanged from their previous match.

Pandya said the pitch has been under covers and that in a rain-affected game, it is always worth batting second. He said it is a long tournament and one you cannot win or lose the IPL in the first couple of weeks.

Rajastrhan Royals captain Riyan Parag said he would have bowled first, too. He said the pitch was supposed to be dry, but the rain might have changed those dynamics.

Playing XIs:

Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Impact substitutes: Ashwani Kumar, Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa.

--IANS

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