Kamal Ghorui
IPL 2026 is set for a blockbuster start this weekend, with the champion teams and star players kicking off the season in front of fans across the world. Here is the schedule for the opening weekend, along with match details and venues.RCB vs SRH: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru- March 28 (Saturday)Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the match starting 7:30 PM IST. The two sides last met at this venue in 2024, when SRH posted a record-breaking highest total of IPL 287/3. The match ended in SRH’s favor and also witnessed the highest aggregate in IPL history, with a combined 549 runs scored. At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB and SRH have a competitive head-to-head record, with RCB holding an advantage with 5 wins in 8 matches, while SRH has secured 3 wins.RCB’s predicted playing XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shephard, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma (Impact Player) SRH’s predicted playing XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (C), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingston, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat Impact – Zeeshan AnsariMI vs KKR: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – March 29 (Sunday)Three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will face five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, with the match starting 7:30 PM IST. The last time these two teams met in Mumbai, MI registered a dominant eight-wicket win on March 31, 2025. Debutant Ashwani Kumar starred with figures of 4/24 to bowl KKR out for 116, after which Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 62 off 41 balls helped MI chase down the target with 43 balls to spare, securing their first win of the 2025 season. Mumbai Indians (MI) dominate Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Wankhede Stadium, holding a 10-2 head-to-head record over 12 matches. MI’s predicted playing XII: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Will Jacks, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Shardul Thakur (IMP)KKR’s predicted playing XII: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Umran Malik (Imp)
