The 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) starts on Saturday, March 28 and promises an even more epic finale of the world’s most lucrative T20 tournament. The tournament also has to play 74 league stage matches, and four high-stakes playoff games, with 10 teams playing each other.
The opening of 2016/17 season will have Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a good match. They are all waiting to see if RCB will continue their winning momentum to be able to spoil SRH's as they go into their party.
Match Details
- Date: Saturday March 28, 2026.
- Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
- Match Time: 7:30 PM IST. Toss Time: 7:00 PM IST.
Live streaming & Broadcast
Cricket fans can watch the live action on TV via Star Sports Network. The match for the mobile app will be launched live or the web stream will be available within JioHotstar and the audience won’t miss a minute of a live match during part of IPL 2026.
Squads Overview
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
RCB team contains a lot of experienced players and young talent. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yash Dayal are key players in the team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
SRH also has some tough players like Pat Cummins, and a powerful forward line-up, T Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Liam Livingstone and Harshal Patel, together with Harshal Patel has made a great team to lead the team.
What to Expect
Looking at both teams packed with explosive batters and good bowlers will be the IPL 2026 opening contest. When RCB can take advantage of the home conditions at Chinnaswamy, SRH can hold an advantage but at the same time that SRH are a balanced team, they can provide some interesting match.
When all eyes turn to star performers and match winners (who can turn the game off in overs). In between all venues from the beginning of the tournament you can expect lots of drama to happen to the first ball starting by that moment and you can sure feel the crowd waiting and rooting for everything.
