IPL 2019 schedule: Chennai Super Kings to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in season opener

What's the story?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the first two weeks (17 matches) of the IPL 2019 season, beginning on March 23.

The Background

The BCCI had earlier announced that the 2019 IPL schedule will be released once the dates for the 2019 Indian General elections are out. While it was expected that the schedule will be released by the first week of March, the Indian board has come up with the fixtures for the first two weeks of the twelfth season.

The heart of the matter

BCCI has released the dates for the first two weeks in a span of which 17 matches will be played across the 8 home venues of the respective franchises. All teams will play a minimum of 4 matches with the Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore playing 5 matches. Every team will play a minimum of 2 home and 2 away matches with DC playing 3 home matches, while RCB will play 3 away matches.

A senior official was quoted as saying, "This is still subject to the announcement of Lok Sabha 2019 election dates. Once the election dates are released we will address any issues with the first two weeks and also prepare a schedule for the remainder of the season working with the local authorities around the polling dates".

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will encounter Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on March 23. Here is the 2019 IPL schedule:

🚨 Announcement 🚨: The #VIVOIPL schedule for the first two weeks is out. The first match of the 2019 season will be played between @ChennaiIPL and @RCBTweetsDetails - https://t.co/wCi6dYHlXL pic.twitter.com/TaYdXNKVSx

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 19, 2019

What's next?

With the schedule for the first two weeks announced, the fixtures for the remainder of the tournament is expected in a few days. Though the date of the grand finale is yet to be announced, it is expected to be played at Chennai as it was the CSK who won the title last season.