Raipur Rhinos vs Rajnandgaon Panthers, CHPL 2026, Today Match Prediction

RR vs RPR Match Prediction & Analysis

Raipur Rhinos will take on Rajnandgaon Panthers in the opening match of the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 on June 3 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. This marks the third edition of the tournament. Both teams enjoyed an excellent campaign last season and advanced to the final, but persistent rain forced the title clash to be abandoned, resulting in Raipur Rhinos and Rajnandgaon Panthers being crowned joint champions.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

RR

RPR

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Raipur Rhinos Preview

Raipur Rhinos enjoyed an outstanding campaign last season, winning four of their five group-stage matches to qualify for the semi-finals. They continued their impressive run by defeating Bilaspur by nine wickets in the semi-final 1 to book a place in the final. However, the title clash was washed out due to rain, resulting in Raipur Rhinos being declared joint champions with Rajnandgaon.

Last season, Amandeep Khare displayed tremendous batting and was the highest run scorer of the tournament, scoring 358 runs in 6 matches at an average of 63.60. Apart from him, Anuj Tiwari also performed brilliantly and scored 223 runs in 6 matches at an average of 74.33.

On the bowling side, Shreyam Sundaram was Raipur's highest wicket-taker last season, taking seven wickets in six matches. Mayank Yadav also took seven wickets in six matches. Once again, Raipur fans will expect a good performance from him.

Apart from this, all-rounder Amit Kumar Yadav will once again be expected to put up a brilliant performance. He scored 161 runs in four matches while also doing wonders in bowling, taking six wickets. Apart from this, he also helped his team reach the final by scoring fifty in 17 balls against Bilaspur Bulls in the semi-final.

Raipur Rhinos Predicted Playing XI:

Amit Kumar Yadav, Amandeep Singh Khare ©, Shashwat Sharda, Vaibhav Sahu, Daksh Kumar, Sahban Khan, Harsh Sharma, Shreyam Kamal, Ashish Chouhan, Mayank Yadav JR, Gaurav Chaturv

Raipur Rhinos Actual Playing XI:

Amandeep Khare, Mayank Verma, Vaibhav Sahu, Shaban Khan, Md Faiz Khan, Ashish Chouhan, Prashant Sai Painkra, Amit Kumar, Harsh Sharma, Shreyam Kamal, Gaurav Chaturvedi, Mayank Yadav

Rajnandgaon Panthers Preview

Rajnandgaon Panthers were one of the standout teams last season, securing four wins from five group-stage matches to advance to the semi-finals. They continued their strong run by defeating the Bastar Bisons by five wickets in the semi-final 2 to reach the final. However, rain washed out the championship match, leading to Rajnandgaon Panthers and Raipur Rhinos sharing the title as joint winners.

With the bat in the previous season, Ajay Mandal performed brilliantly for Rajnandgaon Panthers, scoring 295 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of over 174, making him the second-highest run scorer of the tournament. Apart from him, Ashish Kumar also had a brilliant performance, scoring 191 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of over 151.

In the bowling department, Ajay Mandal once again proved to be a superb performer, taking 11 wickets in five innings and becoming the highest wicket-taker of the previous season. He was also ably supported by Dev Aditya Singh, who took nine wickets and played a key role in the team's crucial victory.

Rajnandgaon head into the new season with experienced all-rounder Ajay Mandal and a strong bowling unit led by Dev Aditya, Aishwarya Marya, and Shreyam Sundaram, hoping to recreate their outstanding run from last year.

Rajnandgaon Panthers Predicted Playing XI:

Ashish Dahariya, Ajay Mondal ©, Sanjeet Desai, Arin Dwivedi, Harsh Sahu, Aishwary Marya, Sumit Ruikar, Gaurav Chowhan, Aryan Jaiswal, Satyam Dubey, Sahil Shariff

Rajnandgaon Panthers Actual Playing XI:

Sanjeet Desai, Harsh Sahu, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Sumit Ruikar, Satyam Dubey, Diwakar Tamrakar, Ashish Dahariya, Sahil Shariff, Aishwarya Mourya, Abhyuday Singh, Aryan Jaiswal, Aman Tripathi

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather is expected to remain bright and sunny at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, with clear skies throughout the match. Temperatures are likely to hover between 29°C and 38°C, while the chances of rain disrupting play are extremely low.

RR vs RPR Pitch Report

The surface at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur offers a balanced, generally sporting wicket that favours fast bowlers early with good bounce, but slows down to assist spinners later. While it can be tricky initially, it is considered a good, fair batting wicket once set. However, large boundaries make clearing the ropes difficult, demanding good shot placement. The average first innings score at this venue in T20Is is around 172 here. Additionally, Bilaspur’s Ayush Pandey scored a brilliant century (102*) against Surguja Tigers at this venue in the previous season.

Toss: To Bowl

The pitch conditions at this venue typically benefit teams batting second, making run chases relatively comfortable. In the previous season, 12 of the 17 matches played here were won by teams that bowled first. As a result, the captain winning the toss is likely to opt for bowling first.