Harpal Singh bedi 

New Delhi:  Defending champions Mumbai Indians will  take on arch rivals and  three-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL),on 19th September in Abu Dhabi.

“The season will kickstart on 19th September in Abu Dhabi with a blockbuster clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings,” BCCI  said a  release .

   The 13th edition of IPL will be played in three different venue in UAE – Abu Dhabi, Dubai  and Sharjah. 

  Dubai will host 24 round-robin matches – the most, followed by Abu Dhabi (20) and Sharjah(12). BCCI will announce the schedule of play-offs later. The final is slated to take place on November 10. On 20th September  Delhi Capitals will clash with Kings XI Punjab in Dubai  followed by the third match on Monday between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

 Sharjah  will  host  Rajasthan Royals – CSK  fixture on September 22. Kolkata Knight Riders will commence  their campaign with a match against MI the next day in Abu Dhabi, the BCCI release said 

  There will be 10 double headers with the first match starting at 3:30PM IST ( 2:00PM UAE) time. However none of the 10 double headers will be played in September with the first coming on October 3. All evening matches will start at 7:30PM IST ( 6:00PM UAE) time. The  entire tournament will be played  behind closed doors  due to  Covid-19 pandemic.

MI and CSK were originally scheduled to play the opening match of the 2020 season at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on March 29. However the outbreak of the pandemic in India and the subsequent lockdown led to the tournament being postponed tely.

The final game of the group stage will be played on November 3 between SRH and MI. Schedule for the playoffs and the final will be announced at a later date.

The full schedule :