The IPL 2026 season opens at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, 28 March, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad. The game starts at 7:30 pm local time.
Bengaluru are defending champions under Rajat Patidar, having ended a 17-year wait for a title in 2025. Virat Kohli made 657 runs last season and opens alongside Phil Salt, with Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd to follow. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal share the new ball, though Josh Hazlewood is missing early in the tournament, so Nuwan Tushara and Suyash Sharma must deliver in the middle overs. Dayal is listed as an impact-player option.
Sunrisers did not get past the league stage last year, when their bowling struggled and they leaned heavily on the batters. Ishan Kishan captains in the early games, with Pat Cummins unavailable. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma open, Heinrich Klaasen follows at three, and Livingstone and Nitish Reddy add power. Jaydev Unadkat and Brydon Carse share the new ball, with Harshal Patel and Harsh Dubey in the middle overs. Our preview picks Bengaluru.
