New Delhi: The opening match of IPL 2026 between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be played on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule for the first 20 days of the 2026 Indian Premier League season.“As three states are scheduled to undergo state assembly elections during this period, the full schedule of the tournament will be announced once the polling dates are announced,” the BCCI said in a statement.
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A total of 20 matches will be played in 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.“The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to the approval of the expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government.
“The committee will hold a meeting and inspection of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a large-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be conducted to assess the readiness of the stadium to host Indian Premier League matches,” the BCCI said.During this period, the tournament will feature four matches, with the afternoon matches starting at 03:30 PM IST, and the evening matches starting at 07:30 PM IST.
Here is the full schedule:
| match | date | day | time | place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCB vs SRH | 28-Mar-26 | He sat down | evening | Bengaluru |
| MI vs KKR | 29-Mar-26 | sun | evening | Mumbai |
| RR vs CSK | 30 Mar 26 | Monday | evening | Guwahati |
| PBKS vs GT | 31 Mar 26 | Tuesday | evening | Mullanpur |
| LSG vs DC | 1-Apr-26 | He got married | evening | Lucknow |
| KKR vs SRH | April 2-26 | Thursday | evening | Kolkata |
| CSK vs PBKS | 3-Apr-26 | Friday | evening | Chennai |
| DC vs. MI | 4-Apr-26 | He sat down | afternoon | Delhi |
| GT vs RR | 4-Apr-26 | He sat down | evening | Ahmedabad |
| SRH vs LSG | 5-Apr-26 | sun | afternoon | Hyderabad |
| RCB vs CSK | 5-Apr-26 | sun | evening | Bengaluru |
| KKR vs PBKS | 6-Apr-26 | Monday | evening | Kolkata |
| RR vs MI | 7-Apr-26 | Tuesday | evening | Guwahati |
| DC vs GT | 8-Apr-26 | He got married | evening | Delhi |
| KKR vs LSG | 9-Apr-26 | Thursday | evening | Kolkata |
| RR vs RCB | 10-Apr-26 | Friday | evening | Guwahati |
| PBKS vs SRH | 11-Apr-26 | He sat down | afternoon | Mullanpur |
| CSK vs DC | 11-Apr-26 | He sat down | evening | Chennai |
| LSG vs GT | 12-Apr-26 | sun | afternoon | Lucknow |
| MI vs RCB | 12-Apr-26 | sun | evening | Mumbai |
The first two matches of the season will be played on April 4, when Delhi Capitals take on Mumbai Indians in an afternoon match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, followed by Gujarat Titans taking on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Rajasthan Royals will start their campaign at home in Guwahati, where they will host Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings will play their early home matches at PCA Stadium.During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamsala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur.