IPL 2026 opening venues guide: first 20 fixtures by stadium, city, date and start time
The early IPL 2026 story is built around Eden Gardens, Kolkata and Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, which host three of the first 20 matches each. The opening fixture is Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sat Mar 28 at 7:30 PM IST.
Across the first 20 confirmed fixtures, the action is spread over 10 venues. The breakdown is simple: two stadiums host three matches each, six stadiums host two matches each, and two stadiums host one match each.
The broader schedule context is fixed too: the IPL 2026 league stage remainder includes 50 matches from April 13 to May 24, 2026, across 12 venues in India.
Opening-venues snapshot: first 20 fixtures by venue
| Venue | City | Number of Matches in First 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Eden Gardens | Kolkata | 3 |
| Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur | 3 |
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | 2 |
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | 2 |
| IS Bindra Stadium | Mohali | 2 |
| Ekana Cricket Stadium | Lucknow | 2 |
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai | 2 |
| Arun Jaitley Stadium | Delhi | 2 |
| Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad | 1 |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium | Hyderabad | 1 |
Full schedule: first 20 IPL 2026 fixtures
| Match No. | Date | Time (IST) | Teams | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 12 | Mon Apr 6 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings | Eden Gardens | Kolkata |
| 13 | Tue Apr 7 | 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur |
| 14 | Wed Apr 8 | 7:30 PM | Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans | Arun Jaitley Stadium | Delhi |
| 15 | Thu Apr 9 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants | Eden Gardens | Kolkata |
| 16 | Fri Apr 10 | 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur |
| 17 | Sat Apr 11 | 3:30 PM | Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | IS Bindra Stadium | Mohali |
| 18 | Sat Apr 11 | 7:30 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai |
| 19 | Sun Apr 12 | 3:30 PM | Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans | Ekana Cricket Stadium | Lucknow |
| 20 | Sun Apr 12 | 7:30 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai |
How the opening run is spread across India
The opening set is concentrated around repeat-host clusters rather than a wide one-off spread. Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Lucknow, Chennai, Delhi and Mohali all return more than once, while Ahmedabad and Hyderabad are the only one-off venues in the first 20.
The busiest lanes are easy to scan: Eden Gardens and Sawai Mansingh Stadium lead the pack, while the six two-match venues form the next tier. That gives the first 20 fixtures a strong north-west, east and south mix without overloading any single ground.
Opening run by stadium cluster
The first double-header day in the opening set is Sat Apr 4, with Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians at 3:30 PM IST in Delhi and Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals at 7:30 PM IST in Ahmedabad. The next comes on Sun Apr 5, when Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants is in Hyderabad at 3:30 PM IST and Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings is in Bengaluru at 7:30 PM IST.
The pattern repeats on Sat Apr 11 and Sun Apr 12. Those pairings are Mohali/Chennai and Lucknow/Mumbai, which keeps the early schedule moving across multiple cities instead of stacking matches in one region.