IPL 2026 opening week trends: 26% growth, 515 million reach and the April 11-12 handoff
IPL 2026 opening week trends are already clear in the numbers: the opening weekend registered 26% growth and crossed 515 million reach across all platforms. This piece tracks the first 16 matches, from Match 1 on Sat Mar 28 to Match 16 on Fri Apr 10, then hands off to the April 11-12 double-header.
The pattern is less about one-off moments and more about flow. The opening week moved across multiple venues, brought several teams back into the frame more than once, and set up a clean transition into four more fixtures over the weekend.
Opening-week media trend
| Metric | Figure | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Opening-week growth | 26% | Reported in the corpus |
| Cross-platform reach | 515 million | Reported in the corpus |
Match 1-20 schedule snapshot
Matches 1-16 are the opening-week recap. Matches 17-20 are the upcoming April 11-12 fixtures.
| 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 |
| 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 |
Opening-week thread, match by match
| Date | Match | One-line takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Sat Mar 28 | RCB vs SRH | Match 1 opened the tournament’s first 16-match run in Bengaluru. |
| Sun Mar 29 | MI vs KKR | Match 2 was part of the opening-week run in Mumbai. |
| Mon Mar 30 | RR vs CSK | Match 3 was part of the opening-week run in Jaipur. |
| Tue Mar 31 | PBKS vs GT | Match 4 was part of the opening-week run in Mohali. |
| Wed Apr 1 | LSG vs DC | Match 5 was part of the opening-week run in Lucknow. |
| Thu Apr 2 | KKR vs SRH | Match 6 was part of the opening-week run in Kolkata. |
| Fri Apr 3 | CSK vs PBKS | Chennai Super Kings were bowled out for just 127 against Punjab Kings. |
| Sat Apr 4 | DC vs MI | Match 8 was part of the opening-week run in Delhi. |
| Sat Apr 4 | GT vs RR | Match 9 was part of the opening-week run in Ahmedabad. |
| Sun Apr 5 | SRH vs LSG | Match 10 was part of the opening-week run in Hyderabad. |
| Sun Apr 5 | RCB vs CSK | Match 11 was part of the opening-week run in Bengaluru. |
| Mon Apr 6 | KKR vs PBKS | Match 12 was part of the opening-week run in Kolkata. |
| Tue Apr 7 | RR vs MI | Match 13 was part of the opening-week run in Jaipur. |
| Wed Apr 8 | DC vs GT | Match 14 was part of the opening-week run in Delhi. |
| Thu Apr 9 | KKR vs LSG | Match 15 was part of the opening-week run in Kolkata. |
| Fri Apr 10 | RR vs RCB | Match 16 closed the opening-week run in Jaipur. |
Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata and Delhi all recur through the first 16 matches, which is why the opening week reads like a rotating thread rather than a straight line. The schedule keeps cycling back to familiar venues while also spreading across Mohali, Lucknow, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
What comes next on April 11-12
The handoff is simple. Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad starts the weekend on Sat Apr 11 at 3:30 PM in Mohali, followed by Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals at 7:30 PM in Chennai.
On Sun Apr 12, Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans is first up at 3:30 PM in Lucknow, before Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru closes the four-match burst at 7:30 PM in Mumbai.