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Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026 Eliminator, with RR skipper Riyan Parag confirming a major fitness concern at the toss. Parag revealed that he is not fully fit for the high-pressure knockout clash but insisted Rajasthan have no option other than going all out for victory. “We also would have bowled first as its a good chasing ground. this has been a good ground, as we have chased and defended. I am unfit to play. Even now we have no other options than to win, I am happy with the team performance if we play to our potential. Jaddu comes back in the XI, Dubey is the impact player,” Parag said at the toss. SRH captain Pat Cummins said Hyderabad were not thinking too much about pressure despite entering the contest after already beating Rajasthan twice earlier this season. “We will bowl first.I think we have played some good cricket of late, we will try to keep our bowling simple and let them play to their strengths. Hinge comes back in. I think we are not bothered about the pressure, its a good chasing ground,” Cummins said. The clash at the PCA New International Stadium carries huge stakes, with the winner progressing further in the playoffs and the losing side eliminated from IPL 2026. The journeys of both teams have mirrored each other this season. Rajasthan Royals started with four straight wins before their campaign lost momentum after a crushing defeat to SRH earlier in the league stage. Ironically, that same game helped transform Hyderabad’s season after they had lost three of their opening four matches.Teams:Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful HingeRajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja Now, with SRH already holding a 2-0 record over Rajasthan this season, the Royals face their toughest challenge yet in a do-or-die knockout encounter.
