The Board of Control for Cricket in India has released the schedule for the first phase of the IPL 2026 season. This part of the tournament will run from March 28 to April 12, 2026.
The 19th season of the IPL will begin with RCB playing against SRH in the season opener. The opening match will be held at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The opening match will be held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
In this first phase, 20 matches will be played at 10 venues. These cities are Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad.
The tournament will include four double-header days during this phase. Afternoon matches will start at 3:30 PM IST, and evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST.
After the opening match on March 28, the second game of the season will see Mumbai Indians play Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The first double-header of the season will be played on April 4, 2026. In the afternoon game, Delhi Capitals will face Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Later in the evening, Gujarat Titans will play Rajasthan Royals at Narendra Modi Stadium.
What is the first match of IPL 2026?
The first match of the Indian Premier League 2026 season will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The match is scheduled for March 28, 2026, and it will take place at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
RCB will enter the match as the defending champions, which makes the opening game even more important. The season opener officially starts the 19th edition of the IPL. The second match of the opening weekend will be played on March 29, when Mumbai Indians face Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
So far, the two teams have played 24 matches against each other. Sunrisers Hyderabad have won 12 matches, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won 11. One match ended in a tie, which shows how tight this rivalry has been over the years.
During the 2025 season, both teams won one match each. In their first meeting, SRH delivered a huge batting performance and scored 287 for 3, winning the match by 25 runs even though RCB made a strong chase of 262 for 7. In the second meeting, RCB bounced back by defending 206 for 7 and bowling SRH out for 171, winning the match by 35 runs.
In terms of individual records in this rivalry, Virat Kohli holds the record for most runs, scoring 762 runs in 23 innings against SRH. The bowler with the most wickets in these matches is Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has taken 18 wickets while playing for both teams at different times.
IPL 2026 Schedule Split as Teams Use Multiple Home Venues
Some teams will use more than one home venue. Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play three in Dharamsala and four home matches in New Chandigarh. Rajasthan Royals will start their home matches in Guwahati before playing the rest in Jaipur.
The league schedule is being announced in two parts because several states will have assembly elections. The remaining matches of IPL 2026 will be released later once the election dates are confirmed.
Matches planned in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium are still subject to approval from a committee formed by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will inspect the stadium and run a full mock match-day test on March 13, 2026, to make sure everything is ready for hosting the games.
FAQs
Q. When is the first match of IPL 2026 season?
A. The new season will start on March 28, 2026.
Q. Which teams will play the opening match of the IPL 2026 season?
A. The opening match will see Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Q. Where will the first match of IPL 2026 be played?
A. The match will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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