IPL to begin in Chennai on April 9, six venues to host games with no home advantage

The 14th edition of IPL will be played across six venues (Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata) and go on till May 30 as per the schedule released on Sunday. While Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata will host 10 double round-robin matches each, Ahmedabad and Delhi will be home for eight league games apiece.The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is scheduled to host the play-off matches and final, in addition to the allotted first-round games. As the entire tournament will take place across only six cities, the organiser has done away with home advantage. All league matches, 56 in total, will be hosted at neutral venues, with each team set to travel to four cities during the opening round.As many as 11 double-headers are planned for IPL 2021, whose initial phase will be held behind closed doors due to the spread of the coronavirus in the country. While the afternoon games will have a 3:30 pm start, the evening fixtures will begin at 7:30 pm.

April 9-25 window for matches in Chennai: The Chepauk Stadium in the city will host 10 matches between April 9 and 25, including a couple of afternoon contests. The 7:30 pm fixture between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will be the last match of the season in Chennai.

CSK to begin campaign against DC: With no home fixtures, Chennai Super Kings will travel to Mumbai (for 5 matches), Delhi (4), Bengaluru (3) and Kolkata (2) during its league assignment. MS Dhoni-led Super Kings will begin its campaign against DC at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 10. In its final first-round game, CSK will come up against RCB at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 23.