IPL 2026
Match-by-match previews across the league stage and the playoffs, with squad reads, captain-by-captain notes and venue projection data.
IPL 2026 watch
IPL 2026 schedule: March 22 - May 25. 74 matches, 10 franchises, four venues. Final scheduled for MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The desk publishes seed-by-seed reads before each match.
Tournament watch
Defending champions: Chennai Super Kings (won 2025 final against Royal Challengers). The 2026 cycle retention window closed Mar 25 with all 10 franchises retaining 3-5 players each.
Top run-scorer (so far in 2026): Sai Sudharsan (Gujarat Titans), 487 runs in 11 matches, avg 53.7, SR 152.1. Top wicket-taker: Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians), 18 wickets in 11 matches, econ 6.4.
Form watch
Last-five form leaders: Chennai Super Kings (W W L W W), Mumbai Indians (W L W W L), Royal Challengers (W W W L W). The desk's form metric combines win-rate, NRR and run-rate differential. The form metric updates daily.
Title-race view
Top four (after 32 matches): Chennai Super Kings 12 pts (NRR +0.94), Royal Challengers 10 pts (NRR +0.61), Mumbai Indians 10 pts (NRR +0.42), Kolkata Knight Riders 8 pts (NRR +0.21). Bottom: Delhi Capitals 4 pts, Sunrisers Hyderabad 4 pts. Playoff format: top four, Qualifier 1 (1 vs 2), Eliminator (3 vs 4), Qualifier 2 (loser Q1 vs winner Elim), Final.
Editor's note
The desk publishes a daily IPL watch during the season. Refresh cadence: every 30 minutes during match days, every 2 hours on off-days. Coverage note: injury updates, trade rumours and impact-sub changes are flagged within 30 minutes. The watch is paired with a captain-pick column for each fixture.
Where to go next
Back to Ipl Tennis
Return to the parent hub for the full set of editor pages and live fixtures.
◎Match predictions
Probabilistic reads from the desk's models and from our editors.
◎Fantasy tips
Captain picks, points system reference and the daily fantasy brief.
✎News desk
Breaking cricket, football and tennis across all our beats.
