TATA IPL Time Table 2026 pdf, IPL is one of the biggest and most exciting Twenty20 (T20) cricket tournaments in the world. Organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it brings together the best cricket players from India and around the globe.
With the TATA IPL 2026 kicking off on March 28, here is a breakdown of everything you need to know to catch the action.
Tournament Highlights
- Start Date: March 28, 2026
- Format: T20 Cricket
- Total Teams: 10
- Match Timings: Afternoon games at 3:30 PM IST and evening games at 7:30 PM IST.
The 10 Competing Teams
The tournament features a mix of domestic and international stars playing for ten city-based franchises:
- Chennai Super Kings
- Delhi Capitals
- Gujarat Titans
- Kolkata Knight Riders
- Lucknow Super Giants
- Mumbai Indians
- Punjab Kings
- Rajasthan Royals
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Sunrisers Hyderabad
Opening Week Match Schedule
Here is the lineup for the first five days of the 2026 season. All of these opening week matches are scheduled to start at 7:30 PM IST.
| Date | Match | Venue |
| March 28 (Saturday) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Bengaluru |
| March 29 (Sunday) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Mumbai Indians | Mumbai |
| March 30 (Monday) | Chennai Super Kings vs. Rajasthan Royals | Guwahati |
| March 31 (Tuesday) | Gujarat Titans vs. Punjab Kings | New Chandigarh |
| April 1 (Wednesday) | Delhi Capitals vs. Lucknow Super Giants | Lucknow |
Host Cities
Matches will be played in stadiums across the country. The major venues for this season include Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Guwahati, and New Chandigarh.
How the Tournament Works
The IPL is divided into two main phases to determine the champion.
1. The League Stage Every team plays multiple matches to earn points on the leaderboard.
- Win: 2 points
- No Result (like a rain cancellation): 1 point
- Loss: 0 points
If teams end up with the same number of points, their ranking is decided by their Net Run Rate (NRR), which essentially measures how heavily they won or lost their games.
2. The Playoffs Once the league stage is over, the top four teams on the points table move on to the playoffs. This phase includes four high-stakes matches:
- Qualifier 1
- Eliminator
- Qualifier 2
- The Final
