New Delhi, 8/4 (AO Bureau)The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held in six cities of the country this year from April 9 to May 30, in which no team will play matches at their home ground. According to the program prepared by the IPL Governing Council, matches will be held in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The first match will be played in Chennai on 9 April between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore while the final will be held on 30 May at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Each team will play at four venues on the league stage. There will be a total of 56 matches in the league phase out of which Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru will host 10-10 while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight each. This time 11 doubleheaders i.e. two matches will be played in a day. For the first time in IPL 2021, matches will start at a new time. The afternoon match will start at 3.30 pm and will start at 7.30 pm compared to the night. Whereas earlier this time was 4 pm and 8 pm