NEW DELHI: The opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season will be played between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) 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 IPL 2026 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 poll dates are announced," BCCI said in a release on Wednesday.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches," BCCI said.
During this period, the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
IPL 2026 full schedule
| MATCH | DATE | DAY | TIME | VENUE |
|---|
| RCB vs SRH | 28-Mar-26 | Sat | Evening | Bengaluru |
| MI vs KKR | 29-Mar-26 | Sun | Evening | Mumbai |
| RR vs CSK | 30-Mar-26 | Mon | Evening | Guwahati |
| PBKS vs GT | 31-Mar-26 | Tue | Evening | Mullanpur |
| LSG vs DC | 1-Apr-26 | Wed | Evening | Lucknow |
| KKR vs SRH | 2-Apr-26 | Thu | Evening | Kolkata |
| CSK vs PBKS | 3-Apr-26 | Fri | Evening | Chennai |
| DC vs MI | 4-Apr-26 | Sat | Afternoon | Delhi |
| GT vs RR | 4-Apr-26 | Sat | 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 | Mon | Evening | Kolkata |
| RR vs MI | 7-Apr-26 | Tue | Evening | Guwahati |
| DC vs GT | 8-Apr-26 | Wed | Evening | Delhi |
| KKR vs LSG | 9-Apr-26 | Thu | Evening | Kolkata |
| RR vs RCB | 10-Apr-26 | Fri | Evening | Guwahati |
| PBKS vs SRH | 11-Apr-26 | Sat | Afternoon | Mullanpur |
| CSK vs DC | 11-Apr-26 | Sat | Evening | Chennai |
| LSG vs GT | 12-Apr-26 | Sun | Afternoon | Lucknow |
| MI vs RCB | 12-Apr-26 | Sun | Evening | Mumbai |
The first double-header of the season will take place on April 4, when Delhi Capitals face Mumbai Indians in the 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 begin their home campaign in Guwahati, where they will host Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, will play their early home fixtures at the 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.
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