IPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru to begin title defence against Sunrisers Hyderabad; Check fixtures for first phase

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign with a blockbuster clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Bengaluru on 28 March.

The fixtures for the first phase of IPL 2026 were officially announced on Wednesday. The first phase will consist of 20 matches, between 28 March and 12 April.

The IPL 2026 schedule is being announced in phases because of the Assembly Elections that have been scheduled to take place in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam. Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati are all host cities in the IPL.

The other game in the opening weekend will be played between five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Punjab Kings (PBKS), who were runners-up in IPL 2025, will kickstart their campaign with a home game against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mullanpur on 31 March.

IPL statement on schedule announcement

"A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

"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.

"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday," the IPL said in an official statement.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches of the season in Bengaluru and two home matches in Raipur.

The statement adds that RCB's matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is subject to clearance from an Expert Committee meeting on 13 March.

This comes in the aftermath of the stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium last year which killed eleven people and left more than 50 people injured.

“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,” the statement added.

Punjab Kings will play four home matches in Chandigarh and three matches in Dharamsala.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will play four home matches in Jaipur, and the other three home matches in Guwahati.

IPL 2026 first phase full schedule