IPL 2018 begins on April 7. (Source: IPL)
BCCI announced the fixtures for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where 51 matches will be played across nine cities. In the opening fixture, defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who return to the tournament after serving a two-year suspension. The tournament begins on Saturday, April 7. The final will be played once again at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, May 27.
The other returning team to the IPL – Rajasthan Royals – will play their first game in two years on April 9 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Their first home game of the season, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, will be up against Delhi Daredevils on April 11.
Preity Zinta-owned Kings XI Punjab, who were extremely active in the IPL auction, will play their three home matches in Indore and four matches in Mohali. KXIP will play Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils in Indore while other four games will be played in Mohali. All other seven teams in the IPL will play all of their home games at one single venue.
In the first double-header of the season, Delhi Daredevils play Kings XI Punjab followed by a clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 8. Speculation surrounding the match timings has been put to rest with the usual timings of 4 PM and 8 PM being retained.12 matches will be played at 4 PM and 48 matches at 8 PM.
In the latter stages of the season, the first qualifier – on May 22 – will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The venues for the eliminator and second qualifier – on May 23 and 25 respectively – are yet to be announced.
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