New Delhi:
The fixtures for the 2019 Indian Premier League has been announced and it starts off with a blockbuster match on March 23. The opening game will see three-time and current champions Chennai Super Kings, captained by MS Dhoni, taking on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk. In 2018, Chennai Super Kings had played only one match at their home venue but the rest of the fixtures where shifted out of Chepauk following protests by some groups over the Cauvery issue. Chennai Super Kings won the 2018 edition of the tournament when they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final in Mumbai thanks to a brilliant century from Shane Watson.
In a statement released by the official website of the IPL, the tournament organisers said these dates were still subject to the announcement of the Lok Sabha 2019 election dates. The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule of the Lok Sabha polls in the first week of March. “Once the election dates are released we will address any issues with the first two weeks and also prepare a schedule for the remainder of the season working with the local authorities around the polling dates,” the statement read.
The 2009 edition of the IPL was held in South Africa as it clashed with the election dates while in the 2014 elections, one half of the IPL was played in the United Arab Emirates.
All the teams will play four matches in the two weeks. Mumbai Indians, the three-time champions will open their campaign against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on March 24 while two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will play 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata. The Feroz Shah Kotla will host Delhi against Chennai Super Kings on March 26.
FIXTURES
SAT 23-MARCH CHENNAI SUPER KINGS ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE CHENNAI
SUN 24-MARCH KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS SUNRISERS HYDERABAD KOLKATA
MUMBAI INDIANS DELHI CAPITALS MUMBAI
MON 25-MARCH RAJASTHAN ROYALS KINGS XI PUNJAB JAIPUR
TUE 26-MARCH DELHI CAPITALS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS DELHI
WED 27-MARCH KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS KINGS XI PUNJAB KOLKATA
THU 28-MARCH ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE MUMBAI INDIANS BENGALURU
FRI 29-MARCH SUNRISERS HYDERABAD RAJASTHAN ROYALS HYDERABAD
SAT 30-MARCH KINGS XI PUNJAB MUMBAI INDIANS MOHALI
DELHI CAPITALS KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS DELHI
SUN 31-MARCH SUNRISERS HYDERABAD ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE HYDERABAD
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS RAJASTHAN ROYALS CHENNAI
MON 01-APRIL KINGS XI PUNJAB DELHI CAPITALS MOHALI
TUE 02-APRIL RAJASTHAN ROYALS ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE JAIPUR
WED 03-APRIL MUMBAI INDIANS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS MUMBAI
THU 04-APRIL DELHI CAPITALS SUNRISERS HYDERABAD DELHI
FRI 05-APRIL ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS BENGALURU
