IPL 2024 Schedule Highlights: Dhoni-Kohli face-off in opener as CSK host RCB on March 22, Hardik Pandya’s first assignment as MI captain against Gujarat
IPL 2024 Full Schedule Highlights: Old pals and former Indian skippers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli will face off in the opening match of the 2024 Indian Premier League as the defending champions Chennai Super Kings host the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. The league will kick off on March 22 and will be hosted in India despite general elections. As told by IPL chairman Arun Dhumal to The Indian Express earlier, initially the schedule for the first 15 days – 21 matches – has been announced.
For newly appointed Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya, it will be familiar foe to start his tenure as Gujarat Titans host the five-time champions in their first game of the season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, another big talking point from the schedule announced on Thursday was that the first two home games of Delhi Capitals shall be hosted in Visakhapatnam after the DDCA requested more time to prepare a fresh surface for the league after they’re done staging 11 WPL games in a row including the final on March 17.
As per the format, ten teams are divided into two groups of five. In the group stage, each team plays 14 games facing the other four teams in their group two times each (one home and one away game), four teams in the other group once, and the remaining team two times.
**IPL 2024 Schedule Live Updates: The bank-breaking opener!
Two Australian pace spearheads, who broke many an Indian hearts only last November, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were the bank-breaking buys at last year's auction in Dubai. Swiftly after the Australian skipper became the first player to cross the 20 crore INR ceiling - bought for 20.5 crore by SRH - Starc upstaged him after KKR went as high as 24.75 crore for the searing left-arm quick. In their first piece of action in the upcoming season, the two will share the field as KKR host SRH at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 23.
