Familiar field for Rajasthan, Hyderabad teams playing IPL eliminator

Having played their league matches against the same opponents, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be facing each other at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Stadium at a well-known track and familiar conditions, during the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL), scheduled for May 27 evening. While Sunrisers Hyderabad went down by six wickets, the Royals registered an identical win during their respective league home-away matches against hosts Punjab Kings, held here last month. Both matches remained high-scoring, as Kings chased 219-target set by the Sunrisers batters, but failed to defend 222 against the Royals bowlers. It will be for the second time, the Mullanpur stadium will be hosting two major Playoff matches — Eliminator and Qualifier 2.

In the 2025 edition of the tournament, the stadium hosted the Qualifier 1 between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, followed by the Eliminator clash between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians — which was also their first time. Meanwhile, on Monday, members of Sunrisers Hyderabad attended a practice session at the stadium. The team features the presence of local boy, Abhishek Sharma and also include experience shoulders of Ishan Kishan, Pat Cummins, Travis Head (who had a faceoff moment with Indian team former skipper Virat Kohli), and Heinrich Klaasen. The team finished third at the IPL points’ table with 18 points in 14 matches.

On Monday, Kishan was seen practicing big shots in the nets, while special focus was put on fielding. While the Royals team are scheduled to land in the city later today evening, after winning their crucial last league match against Mumbai Indians, the match is expected to be high octane. After their last match against Mumbai Indians, which eventually helped the Royals post 16 points in 14 matches — one better of former tournament favourites Punjab Kings — coach Kumar Sangakkara backed skipper Riyan Parag as the “absolute right guy” for the job. The side started their IPL 2026 campaign positively with four back-to-back wins, but lost their way in the middle as they managed to win just two matches in their next eight encounters. “When we decided to offer Riyan the captaincy, I had no doubt in my mind.

He will learn to understand his players a lot more. If one looks at the calls he makes as captain, the confidence with which he drives himself, almost on one foot sometimes to come and play, there’s a huge amount of positivity,” said Sangakkara after winning the last match. Unlike the recent previous IPL outings in Mullanpur here, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken over the operations for the Playoffs. The tickets of this match are available online, while the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) is all set to host the two-important matches.

In the league stage, the PCA had earned a revenue of nearly Rs 8 crore by hosting four matches. All matches featured packed stadiums, with no visible drop in fan attendance in any game.