IPL 2026 opening week fixture difficulty ranking
This IPL 2026 opening week fixture difficulty ranking is based only on the confirmed fixtures from March 28 to April 5, 2026, and it judges the opening week from Match 1 to Match 11 only. The ranking weighs three things: opponent strength as shown by the schedule, venue pressure, and fixture density.
That means the full opening-week pool is the same 10-team group throughout: RCB, SRH, MI, KKR, RR, CSK, PBKS, GT, LSG, and DC. Some teams get two matches, while others are asked to handle three, and that extra load changes the difficulty picture fast.
This ranking uses only the confirmed opening-week fixtures from March 28 to April 5, 2026, covering Match 1 to Match 11.
Opening-week schedule: Match 1 to Match 11
| Match | Date | Time IST | Teams | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat Mar 28 | 7:30 PM | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 2 | Sun Mar 29 | 7:30 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| 3 | Mon Mar 30 | 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| 4 | Tue Mar 31 | 7:30 PM | Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans | IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali |
| 5 | Wed Apr 1 | 7:30 PM | Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
| 6 | Thu Apr 2 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 7 | Fri Apr 3 | 7:30 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| 8 | Sat Apr 4 | 3:30 PM | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi |
| 9 | Sat Apr 4 | 7:30 PM | Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| 10 | Sun Apr 5 | 3:30 PM | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad |
| 11 | Sun Apr 5 | 7:30 PM | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
Easiest-to-hardest opening week ranking
| Rank | Team | Opening-week fixtures | Difficulty note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gujarat Titans | vs PBKS, vs RR | GT have two matches and a fairly clean schedule: an away trip to Mohali, then a home game in Ahmedabad. They sit at the easiest end because they avoid the three-match load and do not face a brutal back-to-back sequence. |
| 2 | Lucknow Super Giants | vs DC, vs SRH | LSG also have two matches, both at home venues in the opening-week window. They rank just above GT because SRH on Apr 5 is a sharper finish than GT’s second game, even though the workload is still light. |
| 3 | Punjab Kings | vs GT, vs CSK | PBKS have two games, but the difficulty rises because their second fixture is CSK in Chennai after starting at home against GT. They sit above LSG because the opponent sequence gets tougher, but below DC because they still avoid a back-to-back marquee stretch. |
| 4 | Delhi Capitals | vs LSG, vs MI | DC get two matches, starting against LSG in Lucknow before hosting MI in Delhi. That puts them above PBKS because the second game is a bigger marquee test, but below RR because the opening-week pressure is still limited to two outings. |
| 5 | Rajasthan Royals | vs CSK, vs GT | RR also have two matches, and both carry weight: CSK in Jaipur and GT in Ahmedabad. They sit above DC because the schedule asks them to handle two recognised marquee-style fixtures, but below MI because they do not face the same early headline burden at Wankhede. |
| 6 | Mumbai Indians | vs KKR, vs DC | MI start with KKR at Wankhede, one of the week’s standout fixtures, then face DC in Delhi. They are harder than RR because the opener itself is high-profile, but easier than KKR because they still only have two matches. |
| 7 | Kolkata Knight Riders | vs MI, vs SRH | KKR have two games, but both are high-profile: away to MI first, then home to SRH. They rank above MI because they get no soft landing at all, yet below RCB because they do not have to manage a three-match week. |
| 8 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | vs SRH, vs CSK | RCB also play two matches, and both are marquee fixtures at home: SRH in the opener and CSK on Apr 5. They are tougher than KKR because the opener and the finale are both headline games in Bengaluru, but still sit below SRH because they do not have a third match in the middle. |
| 9 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | vs RCB, vs KKR, vs LSG | SRH have a three-match week, which immediately raises the load. They face RCB in Bengaluru, KKR in Kolkata, and LSG in Hyderabad, so the fixture density and the venue changes make this a heavier run than RCB’s two-match schedule. |
| 10 | Chennai Super Kings | vs RR, vs PBKS, vs RCB | CSK are the hardest opening-week side because they also play three matches, and the sequence is more punishing than SRH’s: RR in Jaipur, PBKS in Chennai, then RCB in Bengaluru. That mix of travel, home pressure, and a high-profile finish makes their week tougher than SRH’s. |
Team workload quick scan table
| Team | Matches in opening week | Key fixture dates |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | 3 | Mar 30, Apr 3, Apr 5 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3 | Mar 28, Apr 2, Apr 5 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 2 | Mar 28, Apr 5 |
| Mumbai Indians | 2 | Mar 29, Apr 4 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 2 | Mar 29, Apr 2 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 2 | Mar 30, Apr 4 |
| Punjab Kings | 2 | Mar 31, Apr 3 |
| Gujarat Titans | 2 | Mar 31, Apr 4 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 2 | Apr 1, Apr 5 |
| Delhi Capitals | 2 | Apr 1, Apr 4 |
Why the ranking looks this way
The softest starts belong to the two-match teams that avoid a stacked run of marquee games, especially Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. The hardest starts belong to Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, because three fixtures in one week bring more travel, more pressure, and less recovery time than any two-match schedule.
CSK edge SRH on difficulty because their three-game sequence is more punishing across Jaipur, Chennai, and Bengaluru. SRH also play three times, but their run is slightly less demanding on the schedule alone because the middle game is in Kolkata and the final one is at home in Hyderabad.