IPL 2026 Eliminator: Sunrisers Hyderabad Face Rajasthan Royals in Knockout Clash

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals are set to face each other in the IPL 2026 Eliminator match on Wednesday, May 27, in a high-stakes knockout clash. The winning team will advance to Qualifier 2 for a chance to enter the IPL final, while the losing side will be eliminated from the tournament.

Sunrisers Hyderabad finished third in the league stage with 18 points, while Rajasthan Royals secured the final playoff spot with 16 points. Both teams head into the contest with strong momentum after winning their last two league matches.

Hyderabad will also carry a psychological advantage, having defeated Rajasthan Royals in both league-stage encounters this season. Historically too, Sunrisers Hyderabad have dominated this rivalry, winning 14 of the 23 IPL matches played between the two teams.

After a slow start to the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad found consistency in the second half of the tournament. Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, the team won five of their last seven league games. Rajasthan Royals, despite some inconsistent performances, managed to secure their playoff qualification in the closing stages.

Sunrisers Hyderabad possess a powerful batting lineup featuring Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, will rely on players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel to deliver with the bat.

In the bowling department, Pat Cummins, Eshan Malinga, Saqib Hussain, and Prafull Hinge are expected to play key roles for Hyderabad. Rajasthan Royals will depend on Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, and Yashraj Pancha to put pressure on the SRH batting unit.

Probable XI – Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Pat Cummins (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Saqib Hussain.

Probable XI – Rajasthan Royals:
Riyan Parag (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yashraj Pancha, Brijesh Sharma.

Match Details:

• Match: IPL 2026 Eliminator
• Time: 7:30 PM IST
• Venue: Mullanpur Cricket Stadium
• Live Telecast: Star Sports

Pitch Report:
The Mullanpur pitch is known to favor batters. In the four league matches played at the venue this season, scores of 220+ were recorded in three games. The surface also offers some assistance to spin bowlers. Teams winning the toss are likely to prefer chasing. There is no rain forecast for the match.