Punjab Kings finished as runner-up in IPL 2025. Image Credit: X/@PunjabKingsIPL
The Indian Premier League 2026’s first phase schedule has been revealed. The tournament will begin on March 28, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will host Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Last year’s runners-up, the Punjab Kings, will kick off their campaign on the 31st of March against the Gujarat Titans. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will play their opening clash at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
PBKS will then be on the road to face two of the most successful teams. They will play five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on the 3rd of April. Shreyas Iyer will then face his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders, at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2026 campaign on the 31st of March, taking on the 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans. They will then travel to Chennai to take on the Yellow Army led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. It will be a sea of yellow when PBKS takes on CSK at the Chidambaram Stadium on the 3rd of April.
Fueled by the rivalry set only recently, KKR vs PBKS on the 6th of April will be a high-stakes encounter. The former KKR skipper will step onto the Eden Gardens in a new jersey on the 6th of April. Their fourth encounter would be against Sunrisers Hyderabad in New Chandigarh in a day game.
The clash between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings will be one to watch out for, in spite of being pretty early in the season. Although CSK is one of the most successful teams in the competition, with five titles next to their name, their rivalry with PBKS is neck to neck. In 32 games between the two sides, both teams have won 16 games each. In IPL 2025, Shreyas Iyer’s side won both home and away clashes. The runner-up from the previous season would want to carry on their winning streak when they meet CSK on the 3rd of April.
Also Read: MI IPL 2026 First Phase Schedule
The rivalry between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Punjab Kings was ignited not just for the action taking place on the field but off it as well. Having led the Knight Riders to their third title in 2024, Shreyas was not retained by the three-time champions ahead of the mega auction before IPL 2025. In their previous meeting at Eden Gardens, the match was called off due to rain. Meanwhile, in the earlier clash between the two teams in IPL 2025, PBKS defended the lowest total of 111 runs by winning the match by 16 runs. KKR leads the head-to-head record between the two sides, having won 21 of 35 games. PBKS would be eyeing their 14th win when the two teams meet on the 6th of April.
Also Read: RCB IPL 2026 First Phase Schedule
Shreyas Iyer (C), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Marco Jansen, and Lockie Ferguson, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad.
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