The 13th edition of the Indian T20 League is set to see the defending champions, Mumbai taking on Chennai in the tournament opener on Saturday, September 19, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The game will kick-off at 19:30 IST time.
As per the tournament directives, the defending champions take the field to lock horns with the last year’s runner-up in the opener, and despite the break in between the initial schedule and the aforementioned date due to the global virus which forced the Board of Control for Cricket in India to move the tournament to the UAE, the trend is going to continue.
Delhi will then square off against Punjab in the second game at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday, followed by Hyderabad taking on Bangalore on Monday at the same venue.
The group-stage games will continue until November 3, with Hyderabad scheduled to face Mumbai at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah.
"There will be 10 doubleheaders with the first match starting at 3:30 PM IST and 2:00 PM UAE time," said IPL in an official statement.
"All evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST and 6:00 PM UAE time. In all, 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi and 12 in Sharjah.
"Venues for the playoffs and the Dream11 IPL 2020 final will be announced later."
| Team | Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Sharjah | Noon Games |
| Mumbai | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| Chennai | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Delhi | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Hyderabad | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kolkata | 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Rajasthan | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Punjab | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Bangalore | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
The delay in announcing the schedule was caused after two CSK players and 13 support staff members tested positive for the virus. All the teams, meanwhile, started training for the 53-day long tournament, but the MS Dhoni-led side was forced to delay its training plan after completing the six-day quarantine, including three tests, upon arrival on August 21.
Here is how the schedule looks like:
September 19 -- 7:30PM ABU DHABI, MUMBAI vs CHENNAI
September 20 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, DELHI vs PUNJAB
September 21 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, HYDERABAD vs BANGALORE
September 22 -- 7:30PM SHARJAH, RAJASTHAN vs CHENNAI
September 23 -- 7:30PM ABU DHABI, KOLKATA vs MUMBAI
September 24 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, PUNJAB vs BANGALORE
September 25 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, CHENNAI vs DELHI
September 26 -- 7:30PM ABU DHABI, KOLKATA vs HYDERABAD
September 27 -- 7:30PM SHARJAH, RAJASTHAN vs PUNJAB
September 28 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, BANGALORE vs MUMBAI
September 29 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, DELHI vs HYDERABAD
September 30 --7:30PM DUBAI, RAJASTHAN vs KOLKATA
October 1 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, PUNJAB vs MUMBAI
October 2 -- 7:30PM DUBAI, CHENNAI vs HYDERABAD
October 3 --3:30PM ABU DHABI, BANGALORE vs RAJASTHAN
October 3 --7:30PM SHARJAH, DELHI vs KOLKATA
October 4 --3:30PM SHARJAH, MUMBAI vs HYDERABAD
October 4 --7:30PM DUBAI, PUNJAB vs CHENNAI
October 5 --7:30PM DUBAI, BANGALORE vs DELHI
October 6 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, MUMBAI vs RAJASTHAN
October 7 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, KOLKATA vs CHENNAI
October 8 --7:30PM DUBAI, HYDERABAD vs PUNJAB
October 9 --7:30PM SHARJAH, RAJASTHAN vs DELHI
October 10 --3:30PM ABU DHABI, PUNJAB vs KOLKATA
October 10 --7:30PM DUBAI, CHENNAI vs BANGALORE
October 11 --3:30PM DUBAI, HYDERABAD vs RAJASTHAN
October 11 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, MUMBAI vs DELHI
October 12 --7:30PM SHARJAH, BANGALORE vs KOLKATA
October 13 --7:30PM DUBAI, HYDERABAD vs CHENNAI
October 14 --7:30PM DUBAI, DELHI vs RAJASTHAN
October 15 --7:30PM SHARJAH, BANGALORE vs PUNJAB
October 16 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, MUMBAI vs KOLKATA
October 17 --3:30PM DUBAI, RAJASTHAN vs BANGALORE
October 17 --7:30PM SHARJAH, DELHI vs CHENNAI
October 18 --3:30PM ABU DHABI, HYDERABAD vs KOLKATA
October 18 --7:30PM DUBAI, MUMBAI vs PUNJAB
October 19 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, CHENNAI vs RAJASTHAN
October 20 --7:30PM DUBAI, PUNJAB vs DELHI
October 21 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, KOLKATA vs BANGALORE
October 22 --7:30PM DUBAI, RAJASTHAN vs HYDERABAD
October 23 --7:30PM SHARJAH, CHENNAI vs MUMBAI
October 24 --3:30PM ABU DHABI, KOLKATA vs DELHI
October 24 --7:30PM DUBAI, PUNJAB vs HYDERABAD
October 25 --3:30PM DUBAI, BANGALORE vs CHENNAI
October 25 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, RAJASTHAN vs MUMBAI
October 26 --7:30PM SHARJAH, KOLKATA vs PUNJAB
October 27 --7:30PM DUBAI, HYDERABAD vs DELHI
October 28 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, MUMBAI vs BANGALORE
October 29 --7:30PM DUBAI, CHENNAI vs KOLKATA
October 30 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, PUNJAB vs RAJASTHAN
October 31 --3:30PM DUBAI, DELHI vs MUMBAI
October 31 --7:30PM SHARJAH, BANGALORE vs HYDERABAD
November 1 --3:30PM ABU DHABI, CHENNAI vs PUNJAB
November 1 --7:30PM DUBAI, KOLKATA vs RAJASTHAN
November 2 --7:30PM ABU DHABI, DELHI vs BANGALORE
November 3 --7:30PM SHARJAH, HYDERABAD vs MUMBAI
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Noah Seelam
