After initially releasing the schedule for first 17 matches, BCCI on Tuesday announced the fixtures for the entire group stage of IPL 2019 where all eight teams will play seven games at their respective home venues.
There were speculations that IPL 2019 might be hosted in a Caravan format for the first time, keeping the General Elections in mind but BCCI made it clear that there will be no change in the tournament’s home and away format. The schedule is balanced in terms of afternoon matches/weekend matches and travel. Though there was no official announcement from the board the IPL 2019 final might be played on May 12 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, while the likely dates for the other knockout matches are May 7 (Qualifier 1), May 8 (Eliminator) and May 10 (Qualifier 2), reported ESPNCricinfo. Vizag has been as a standby venue in case any match has to be shifted due to unforeseen circumstances.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai in the IPL opener, which will begin on March 23. The schedule of this year's edition has been released in parts by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls that would be a staggered process in seven phases stretched across April and May. Earlier, the BCCI announced the schedule of the first 17 matches that will be played during the two-week period from March 23 to April 5 across the eight home venues of the respective franchises. All teams are playing a minimum of four matches with the newly-christened Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) playing five matches in that phase. Every team was assigned a minimum of two home and two away matches with DC given three home matches. FULL SCHEDULE: March 23 Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore March 24 4 p.m. - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 8 p.m. - Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals March 25 Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab March 26 Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings March 27 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab March 28 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians March 29 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals March 30 4 p.m. - Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians 8 p.m. - Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders March 31 4 p.m. - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 8 p.m. - Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals April 1 Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Capitals April 2 Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore April 3 Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings April 4 Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad April 5 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders April 6 4 p.m. Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab 8 p.m. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians April 7 4 p.m. - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals 8 p.m. - Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders April 8 Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad April 9 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders April 10 Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab April 11 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings April 12 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals April 13 4 p.m. Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals 8 p.m. Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore April 14 4 p.m. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings 8 p.m. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals April 15 Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore April 16 Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals April 17 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings April 18 Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians April 19 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore April 20 4 p.m. Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians 8 p.m. Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab April 21 4 p.m. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders 8 p.m. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings April 22 Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals April 23 Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad April 24 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab April 25 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals April 26 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians April 27 Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad April 28 4 p.m. Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 8 p.m. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians April 29 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab April 30 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals May 1 Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals May 2 Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad May 3 Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders May 4 4 p.m. Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals 8 p.m. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad May 5 4 p.m. Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings 8 p.m. Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders