IPL 2026 Schedule Announced: RCB vs SRH to Kick Off IPL 2026 on March 28

IPL 2026 Schedule: The first part of the schedule for Indian Premier League 2026 has now been revealed. The tournament will start on March 28. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play the opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. This game will take place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Earlier reports said that RCB might face Chennai Super Kings in the first game. There were also rumours that the champions would start the season against last year’s runners-up Punjab Kings. But the final schedule shows that none of those matchups will happen on the opening night.

Instead RCB will begin their title defence against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab Kings, who were finalists in 2025, will start their campaign on another day against a different team.

Will follow all legal processes, says Sisodia on Delhi HC notice over CBI plea in excise policy case

The first phase of the tournament will have 20 matches. These games will be played over 16 days from March 28 to April 12. Many exciting fixtures are spread across this early part of the season.

Busy Opening Week with Big Matches

The first few days of the tournament already have some strong games. After the opening match between RCB and SRH on March 28, the next day will see Mumbai Indians hosting Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.

On March 30 the league moves to Guwahati. There Rajasthan Royals will face Chennai Super Kings. CSK start their season with an away match against Rajasthan. Rajasthan usually begins strongly in the early games, so it will be a challenging start for both teams.

Punjab Kings will play their first game at home on March 31. They will face Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. A day later on April 1, Lucknow Super Giants will host Delhi Capitals.

IPL 2026 Schedule: BCCI to Announce First 20 Days of Fixtures on March 12

Kolkata Knight Riders return quickly to action. They will play Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata on April 2. Chennai Super Kings then play their first home match of the season against Punjab Kings on April 3 in Chennai. By the end of this opening week most teams in the league will have already played at least two games.

Double Headers

The first double header of the season will happen on April 4. On that day Delhi Capitals host Mumbai Indians. Later in the evening Gujarat Titans face Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad.

April 5 also has two matches. In the first game Sunrisers Hyderabad host Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad. The second game of that day is expected to be one of the biggest clashes early in the season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru. By that time both teams will have played three matches.

Big Fixtures Before Phase One Ends

There are more important games in the following days.

Kolkata Knight Riders will host Punjab Kings in Kolkata on April 6.
On April 7 Rajasthan Royals face Mumbai Indians in Guwahati.
Delhi Capitals play Gujarat Titans on April 8.
Then on April 9 Kolkata Knight Riders meet Lucknow Super Giants again in Kolkata.

KKR will enjoy three home games during the first phase which gives them good support from their fans.

On April 10 Rajasthan Royals will host RCB in Guwahati. It will be interesting because the defending champions will be playing away from home at a neutral venue.

The first phase of IPL 2026 will end with two double headers on April 11 and April 12. On April 11 Punjab Kings play Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mullanpur while Chennai Super Kings face Delhi Capitals in Chennai.

Lucknow Super Giants host Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede Stadium. This match will close the first 20 games of what already looks like an exciting start to the new IPL season.