IPL 2026 Chinnaswamy vs Wankhede vs Chepauk early season venues: confirmed fixtures and venue tracker
IPL 2026 Chinnaswamy vs Wankhede vs Chepauk early season venues line up side by side like this: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium gets Match 1 and Match 11, Wankhede Stadium gets Match 2 and Match 20, and M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) gets Match 7 and Match 18. This is a venue tracker for early-season IPL 2026 fixtures, not a full schedule recap.
Callout: The BCCI's second-phase schedule note says 13 venues will host 70 league matches, and playoff venues will be announced later.
The corpus says IPL 2026 will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
At a glance: how the three grounds line up early
- Bengaluru / M. Chinnaswamy Stadium: Match 1 on Sat Mar 28, 7:30 PM IST, then Match 11 on Sun Apr 5, 7:30 PM IST.
- Mumbai / Wankhede Stadium: Match 2 on Sun Mar 29, 7:30 PM IST, then Match 20 on Sun Apr 12, 7:30 PM IST.
- Chennai / M. A. Chidambaram Stadium: Match 7 on Fri Apr 3, 7:30 PM IST, then Match 18 on Sat Apr 11, 7:30 PM IST.
The BCCI has also announced a venue change for both CSK vs GT matches. The corpus says the GT vs CSK venues are swapped, but it does not spell out the full revised venue list.
Venue comparison table
| Venue | City | Early-season matches scheduled | Match dates | Start time IST | Notable note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | 2 | Mar 28, Apr 5 | 7:30 PM | Hosts Match 1 and Match 11 |
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | 2 | Mar 29, Apr 12 | 7:30 PM | Hosts Match 2 and Match 20 |
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai | 2 | Apr 3, Apr 11 | 7:30 PM | Hosts Match 7 and Match 18; Chepauk drew 20,800 fans for CSK’s first home outing of the season, according to the Chepauk snippet |
Fixture table for the three target venues
| Match | Teams | Date | Time IST | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Sat Mar 28 | 7:30 PM IST | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| Match 2 | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Sun Mar 29 | 7:30 PM IST | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| Match 7 | Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings | Fri Apr 3 | 7:30 PM IST | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| Match 11 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings | Sun Apr 5 | 7:30 PM IST | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| Match 18 | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals | Sat Apr 11 | 7:30 PM IST | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| Match 20 | Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Sun Apr 12 | 7:30 PM IST | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
Venue-change note
The corpus says the GT vs CSK venues are swapped in IPL 2026. It also says the BCCI has announced a venue change for both CSK vs GT matches.
| Fixture | Original venue note | Updated venue note | Source snippet |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSK vs GT | Venue change announced | Source confirms a venue change for both CSK vs GT matches, but does not spell out the full revised venue list | BCCI has announced a venue change for both CSK vs GT matches |
| GT vs CSK | Venues are swapped in IPL 2026 | Source says the GT vs CSK venues are swapped, but does not spell out the full revised venue list | GT vs CSK venues are swapped in IPL 2026 |
What the first wave of fixtures says
Bengaluru and Mumbai each get two early fixtures, with M. Chinnaswamy Stadium hosting Match 1 and Match 11 and Wankhede Stadium hosting Match 2 and Match 20. Chepauk also gets two early fixtures, with Match 7 and Match 18 confirmed at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Chepauk stands out in the source material for one extra reason: the venue-change note around CSK vs GT is tied to it, and the Chepauk snippet records 20,800 fans for CSK’s first home outing of the season. That makes Chennai the only one of the three venues with both a fixture pair and a separate source note attached to it.
The early-season footprint is balanced across the three grounds. Bengaluru opens the league stage, Mumbai follows immediately, and Chepauk slots into the first week with two confirmed dates of its own.