IPL 2026 opening weekend venues guide
This IPL 2026 opening weekend venues guide is built for quick phone checks: the opening stretch runs across 10 confirmed venues, Bengaluru is the only repeat ground, and the two double-header days are split across two cities each. If you are tracking where the matches land, this is the fastest way to map every confirmed fixture from Mar 28 to Apr 5.
The schedule snippet in the corpus confirms 10 matches in this opening block, with the rest of the league stage running from Apr 13 to May 24, 2026, across 12 venues in India.
Full schedule: opening stretch by date, venue and time
| Date | Match | Venue | City | Start time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | 7:30 PM IST |
| Mar 29 | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | 7:30 PM IST |
| Mar 30 | Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur | 7:30 PM IST |
| Mar 31 | Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans | IS Bindra Stadium | Mohali | 7:30 PM IST |
| Apr 1 | Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals | Ekana Cricket Stadium | Lucknow | 7:30 PM IST |
| Apr 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Eden Gardens | Kolkata | 7:30 PM IST |
| Apr 3 | Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai | 7:30 PM IST |
| Apr 4 | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians | Arun Jaitley Stadium | Delhi | 3:30 PM IST |
| Apr 4 | Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals | Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad | 7:30 PM IST |
| Apr 5 | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium | Hyderabad | 3:30 PM IST |
| Apr 5 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | 7:30 PM IST |
Venue-by-venue summary
Use this ground-by-ground view for travel planning, ticket checks, or if you want to follow one city across the opening stretch. It shows exactly where each confirmed match lands.
| Venue | City | Matches hosted in the opening stretch | Match dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | 2 | Mar 28, Apr 5 |
| Arun Jaitley Stadium | Delhi | 1 | Apr 4 |
| Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad | 1 | Apr 4 |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium | Hyderabad | 1 | Apr 5 |
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | 1 | Mar 29 |
| Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur | 1 | Mar 30 |
| IS Bindra Stadium | Mohali | 1 | Mar 31 |
| Ekana Cricket Stadium | Lucknow | 1 | Apr 1 |
| Eden Gardens | Kolkata | 1 | Apr 2 |
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai | 1 | Apr 3 |
What the venue map tells you
Bengaluru is the only ground that appears twice in this opening block, and it bookends the stretch with the opener on Mar 28 and another match on Apr 5. That makes M. Chinnaswamy Stadium the busiest confirmed venue in the first stretch.
The two double-header days are split cleanly across separate cities. On Apr 4, the matches are in Delhi and Ahmedabad; on Apr 5, they are in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Every other venue on the list hosts just one match in this window. That keeps the opening stretch spread across 10 cities and gives the schedule a clear city-by-city footprint rather than a single-ground focus.
Opening stretch at a glance
The confirmed opening block runs across 10 matches from Mar 28 to Apr 5. All listed fixtures are scheduled for either 3:30 PM IST or 7:30 PM IST.