IPL 2020 schedule officially announced, Mumbai Indians to play Chennai Super Kings in opener
At long last, with 13 days left to its commencement, the schedule for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been released on the T20 League’s official website. The tournament starts from the 19th of September, with the two finalists of last year, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings facing off against each other at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The fact that the Chennai Super Kings have been allotted the first match despite having a COVID-19 crisis in their camp and that they have not started training yet for the tournament might appear as a surprise to some, but the apex council decided to stick with the original pattern of the two finalists of the previous edition opening the tournament.
Full schedule (Commencement of matches as per Indian Standard Time):
| September 19 | Match 1 (Sat) | Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| September 20 | Match 2 (Sun) | Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| September 21 | Match 3 (Mon) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| September 22 | Match 4 (Tue) | Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| September 23 | Match 5 (Wed) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| September 24 | Match 6 (Thu) | Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| September 25 | Match 7 (Fri) | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| September 26 | Match 8 (Sat) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| September 27 | Match 9 (Sun) | Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| September 28 | Match 10 (Mon) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| September 29 | Match 11 (Tue) | Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| September 30 | Match 12 (Wed) | Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 1 | Match 13 (Thu) | Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 2 | Match 14 (Fri) | Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 3 | Match 15 (Sat) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals | 3:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Match 16 | Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | |
| October 4 | Match 17 (Sun) | Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| Match 18 | Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | |
| October 5 | Match 19 (Mon) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 6 | Match 20(Tue) | Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 7 | Match 21(Wed) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 8 | Match 22(Thu) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 9 | Match 23 (Fri) | Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| October 10 | Match 24(Sat) | Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 3:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Match 25 | Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | |
| October 11 | Match 26 (Sun) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals | 3:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| Match 27 | Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi | |
| October 12 | Match 28 (Mon) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| October 13 | Match 29 (Tue) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 14 | Match 30 (Wed) | Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 15 | Match 31 (Thu) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| October 16 | Match 32 (Fri) | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 17 | Match 33 (Sat) | Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| Match 34 | Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | |
| October 18 | Match 35 (Sun) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 3:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Match 36 | Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | |
| October 19 | Match 37 (Mon) | Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 20 | Match 38 (Tue) | Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 21 | Match 39 (Wed) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 22 | Match 40 (Thu) | Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 23 | Match 41(Fri) | Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| October 24 | Match 42 (Sat) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals | 3:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Match 43 | Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | |
| October 25 | Match 44 (Sun) | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings | 3:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| Match 45 | Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi | |
| October 26 | Match 46 (Mon) | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| October 27 | Match 47 (Tue) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 28 | Match 48 (Wed) | Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 29 | Match 49 (Thu) | Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| October 30 | Match 50 (Fri) | Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| October 31 | Match 51 (Sat) | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians | 3:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
| Match 52 | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | |
| November 1 | Match 53 (Sun) | Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab | 3:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Match 54 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 PM | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | |
| November 2 | Match 55 (Mon) | Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 PM | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| November 3 | Match 56 (Tue) | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 PM | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
The league matches will take place between the 19th of September to the 3rd of November, following which the top 4 teams will qualify for the playoffs. The dates and venues for the playoffs have not been announced yet.
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The Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium at Abu Dhabi and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium are the three venues to host the tournament, with Dubai hosting 24 matches and Abu Dhabi and Sharjah hosting 20 and 12 matches respectively. A total of 10 doubleheaders, all on the weekends, will take place due to the stringent travelling protocols.
