Royal Challengers Bengaluru entered their final league-stage clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad with a top-two finish almost in their hands, but their team sheet still carried one notable absence. Jacob Bethell, who had been filling an important role in the RCB batting unit over the last few weeks, was not named in the Playing XI and was not listed among the Impact Player options either. With SRH choosing to bat first on what looked like a flat, high-scoring surface, RCB made one change from their previous combination as Rajat Patidar returned to lead the side. IPL 2026: Rajat Patidar returns as RCB make one change RCB captain Rajat Patidar walked out for the toss after missing the previous game against Punjab Kings, where Jitesh Sharma had led the side. Patidar confirmed that he was back in the XI and that RCB had made only one change for the match. 'Wherever we go, we feel like it's a home game for us. It doesn't matter where you are, you have to match your standards every game. You have to tick a lot of boxes. Bethell has a finger injury, I am back,' Patidar said at the toss. That cleared the selection mystery. Bethell is not playing because of a finger injury, while Patidar has directly replaced him in the XI. RCB have gone in with Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer and Jitesh Sharma in the top and middle order, with Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya adding all-round depth. Jacob Bethell's stop-start IPL 2026 campaign Jacob Bethell's absence comes after a mixed campaign with RCB. The young England all-rounder had spent the early part of the season on the bench before finally breaking into the XI when Phil Salt’s injury opened up a slot in RCB. Across seven matches, Jacob Bethell scored 96 runs, with a highest score of 27. His average of 13.71 and strike rate of 124.68 show that he never fully exploded, but RCB still used him because of the left-handed balance he brought to the batting order. His best glimpse came against Delhi Capitals, where he made 20 off 11 balls with two sixes. Against Mumbai Indians, he made 27, but it came off 27 balls. In his last outing against Punjab Kings, he scored 11 off 7 balls before RCB went on to seal playoff qualification. For RCB, this injury is not ideal, but it is not a crisis either. Patidar's return strengthens the batting, and Tim David being available as an Impact Player gives them late-overs power if required. SRH bat first on a belter in Hyderabad vs RCB SRH captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first. SRH are already through to the playoffs but still have an outside chance of finishing in the top two. For that, they need a massive win over RCB. 'I think it's a long shot getting in the top two, but we'll give it a good crack tonight,' Cummins said. “We're going to test out how good you are, maybe try a few new things ahead of the finals. But just, again, bat first, try and score as big as we can see if we can defend.” The pitch report suggested a batting paradise. Michael Clarke called it an 'absolute belter,' adding that there was no grass, good bounce and carry, and very little help for bowlers unless they used change-ups smartly. SRH vs RCB Playing XIs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar. RCB Impact Subs: Tim David, Kanishk Chouhan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox. Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain. SRH Impact Subs: Praful Hinge, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel. Also READ: Explained: How can SRH surpass RCB and setup IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 clash against GT