The IPL 2026 playoffs are here. It is the eliminator match. Sunrisers Hyderabad will play against Rajasthan Royals at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium in Mullanpur on May 27. The match starts at 7:30 PM local time.
The race for the playoffs went down to the last day of the league stage. Sunrisers Hyderabad finished in third place. They beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs in their last match. Rajasthan Royals grabbed the fourth spot. They fought hard and won a thrilling match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on the final day.
Now both teams have one chance. The winner goes to qualifier 2. The loser goes home.
SRH is a batting heavy side. They rely on their destructive batters like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen. Eshan Malinga is their top bowler.
On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi do the heavy lifting for RR with the bat. Dhruv Jurel and Donovan Ferreira also help. Jofra Archer leads the pace attack. Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma support him. Ravi Bishnoi, Ravindra Jadeja and Yash Raj Punja handle the spin department.
This season, the two sides have played twice. Sunrisers Hyderabad won both matches comfortably. With those two wins, SRH extended their overall head to head record against RR to 14 wins in 23 matches. RR has only 9 wins.
But the playoffs are different. Form and history can change in one night.
SRH vs RR Win Probability
SRH vs RR Match Details
| Match | Indian Premier League 2026, Eliminator |
| Date | Thursday, 27 May 2026 |
| Time | 07:30 PM (IST) |
| Venue | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur |
| Live Streaming (TV) | Star Sports Network |
| Live Streaming (Mobile) | JioHotstar |
SRH vs RR Team Form- Who Will Win Today’s Match?
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH’s recent form is W, W, L, W, L. They won 8 out of their last 10 matches after a slow start. Their biggest strength is batting. Three different batters have crossed 500 runs this season.
Heinrich Klaasen is the top run scorer. He has 606 runs in 14 innings. His strike rate is 159. His average is 50. He played a brilliant knock of 65 off 30 balls against Mumbai Indians.
Ishan Kishan has 569 runs. His strike rate is 178. He scored 91 against RR and 79 against RCB in the last game. Abhishek Sharma has 563 runs. His strike rate is 206. He scored 135 not out off 68 balls against Delhi Capitals this season. That was one of the best knocks in IPL history.
Travis Head has 393 runs. His strike rate is 168. He and Abhishek form one of the most dangerous opening pairs in the league.
With the ball, Eshan Malinga is the top wicket taker. He has 19 wickets. He has taken wickets consistently. His best figure is 4 for 32 against Delhi Capitals.
Sakib Hussain has taken 15 wickets in 10 matches. Praful Hinge has taken 11 wickets in 6 games. Pat Cummins returned from injury and took 8 wickets in 7 games. His best was 3 for 28 against Chennai Super Kings.
The spin duo of Shivang Kumar and Harsh Dubey have taken 8 wickets each.
Rajasthan Royals
RR’s recent form is W, W, L, L, L. They had a mixed season. Their best run was winning their first four games. But they lost three in a row near the end. Then they won their last two matches to qualify.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is their star batter. He has 583 runs in 14 innings. His strike rate is 232. He has three fifties and a brilliant hundred. He scored 103 off 37 balls against SRH this season.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has 397 runs. His strike rate is 159. He and Vaibhav give RR explosive starts.
Dhruv Jurel has 458 runs. His strike rate is 149. He batted at number three and did very well. His best score was 81 not out off 43 balls against RCB.
Donovan Ferreira has 267 runs. Ravindra Jadeja has 208 runs. Captain Riyan Parag has 271 runs but he has struggled. His average is only 24 this season. His best score was 90 off 50 balls.
With the ball, Jofra Archer has been amazing. He has taken 21 wickets in 14 matches. He gives early breakthroughs in the powerplay. His best was 3 for 17 against Mumbai Indians in the last game. That helped RR qualify.
Nandre Burger has 11 wickets. Brijesh Sharma has 13 wickets. He replaced Sandeep Sharma in the XI.
The spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Ravindra Jadeja and Yash Raj Punja has done well. Bishnoi has 11 wickets. Jadeja has 8 wickets. Debutant Yash Raj has 8 wickets in 6 matches.
SRH vs RR Head to Head Record
| Total Matches | 23 |
| SRH Won | 14 |
| RR Won | 09 |
| NR | 00 |
SRH vs RR Probable Playing XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad-
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain.
Impact Player: Harshal Patel.
Rajasthan Royals-
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma.
Impact Player: Ravindra Jadeja.
SRH vs RR Pitch Report
The pitch at Mullanpur is balanced and lively. There is good grass cover. This gives pace bowlers extra zip and bounce early on. As the match goes on, the surface settles down. It becomes good for batting. The outfield is quick. Spinners get some grip and turn in the middle overs.
Punjab Kings played 4 home matches here this season. The average first innings score was 214. That is very high. So batters will enjoy this pitch.
SRH vs RR Weather Report
It will be a very hot and sunny day. Temperature will reach 42 to 44 degrees in the afternoon. In the evening, it will be around 28 to 30 degrees. There is no chance of rain. The sky will be clear. Winds will be light at about 14 km per hour. We will have a full match with no interruption.
SRH vs RR Toss Prediction
The captain who wins the toss will choose to bowl first. This is a very good batting pitch. It gets better as the game goes on. Dew will also come in the second innings. That makes it hard for bowlers to grip the ball. This season at this ground, 3 out of 4 matches were won by the team bowling first.
SRH vs RR Match Prediction
This is a big knockout match. Both teams have one chance. The winner moves forward. The loser goes home.
SRH has a very strong batting lineup. Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen can destroy any bowling attack. They have scored a lot of runs this season. Three of their batters crossed 500 runs. That shows how dangerous they are. They also won both matches against RR this season. That gives them confidence.
But SRH depends too much on their top batters. If RR’s bowlers get them out cheaply, the middle order may struggle. Their bowling is good but not as strong as their batting.
RR has momentum. They won a thriller against Mumbai Indians to qualify. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is in amazing form. He hits sixes for fun. He has hit 53 sixes this season. Yashasvi Jaiswal is also very good at the top. Dhruv Jurel has been consistent. Jofra Archer is their biggest weapon. He has taken 21 wickets and can take wickets with the new ball. He has a good record against Abhishek, Head and Ishan Kishan. That could be the key.
RR have also won all three matches they have played at this venue. That is a big advantage. They know how to play here.
This will be a close game. Both teams have the power to win. But RR’s bowling attack is more balanced. Jofra Archer can make early breakthroughs. Their spinners can control the middle overs. And they have the momentum of a big win in their last match.
We predict Sunrisers Hyderabad will win this eliminator and go to qualifier 2.
SRH vs RR Dream11 Team
- Wicketkeeper– Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel
- Batters– Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal
- All Rounders– Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja
- Bowlers– Jofra Archer, Eshan Malinga, Nandre Burger
Captain Choice- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Vice Captain Choice- Jofra Archer.
