NEW DELHI: The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is set to host matches in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season, but there is a significant condition attached.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026, which will run from March 28 to April 12. The 19th edition of the tournament will begin with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

However, the matches scheduled at the iconic venue are subject to approval from a government-appointed expert committee.“As three states are scheduled to undergo State Assembly elections during this period, the full schedule of the tournament will be announced once the poll dates are announced,” BCCI said in a release.A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues in the first phase — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.BCCI also clarified that the matches in Bengaluru will depend on a final safety clearance from the authorities.“The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches,” BCCI said.During the first phase, the tournament will feature four double-headers, with afternoon games starting at 03:30 PM IST and evening matches at 07:30 PM IST.

IPL 2026: Schedule

The first double-header of the season is scheduled for April 4, when Delhi Capitals face Mumbai Indians in the afternoon at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, followed by Gujarat Titans taking on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Rajasthan Royals will start their home campaign in Guwahati, where they will host Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Punjab Kings, meanwhile, will play their early home matches at the PCA Stadium.As per the current plan, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home games in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamsala, while Rajasthan Royals will split their home fixtures between Guwahati and Jaipur.However, the final confirmation for the Bengaluru matches will depend on the outcome of the inspection and clearance by the Karnataka government’s expert committee.

NEW DELHI: On the back of a disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan endured an awful outing with the willow in the first ODI against Bangladesh as they were bowled out for just 114 in 30.4 overs after Bangladesh chose to field first at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday. The innings began on a steady note with Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat adding 41 runs for the opening wicket, but the momentum quickly faded once the breakthrough came.

What followed was a dramatic collapse, with Pakistan’s middle order falling cheaply and struggling to build partnerships on a challenging pitch.Opener Farhan top-scored early with 27, while Sadaqat made 18, but wickets fell regularly after the first dismissal at 41-1. Batters like Shamyl Hussain (4), Mohammad Rizwan (10), Salman Agha (5) and Hussain Talat (4) failed to convert their starts, leaving Pakistan in deep trouble. The situation worsened when Abdul Samad was dismissed for a duck, and skipper Shaheen Afridi could only add 4 before departing. By the 24th over, Pakistan had slumped to 82-9, highlighting the extent of their collapse.Bangladesh’s bowlers dominated the innings, led by Nahid Rana, who produced a superb spell to claim five wickets for 24 runs, dismantling the top and middle order. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz also played a key role with 3 for 29, while Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed chipped in with one wicket each.Amid the collapse, Faheem Ashraf tried to rescue the innings with a fighting 37 off 47 balls, hitting six fours and a six, and shared a small partnership with Abrar Ahmed, who remained unbeaten on 0. However, the resistance came too late as Pakistan were eventually dismissed for 114, leaving Bangladesh with a modest target to chase.

NEW DELHI: India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson expressed heartfelt gratitude after playing a key role in India’s successful campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, saying the moment felt like the realisation of a long-cherished dream that he once believed had slipped away.Samson scripted a remarkable comeback during the recently concluded tournament, battling inconsistency and spells on the bench to emerge as India’s leading run-scorer. He delivered crucial performances when it mattered most, producing a string of half-centuries from the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies cricket team to the title clash against New Zealand national cricket team.

The keeper-batter was also adjudged Player of the Tournament for his consistency, amassing 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37. His tally included 27 fours and 24 sixes, and he finished as the third-highest run-getter in the tournament.He also surpassed Virat Kohli’s tally of 319 runs in the 2014 edition to register the most runs by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup.Speaking in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Samson admitted that he had always dreamed of achieving such a milestone for the country but never imagined it would unfold the way it eventually did.“Unbelievable, I think I already said before, I had the dream to achieve this, but I didn’t know it would happen so exactly in this current moment. So very grateful. I absolutely don’t have words for it, to be very honest. I know, I think genuine prayers and genuine wishes are very powerful, and when they are given by such a huge crowd, I think I can’t ask for more. I think they definitely, genuinely wish and pray for me,” Samson said.India, who defended their T20 World Cup crown by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs, became the first team to win the marquee event three times since its inception in 2007 and the first to successfully defend the title in consecutive editions.Reflecting on the support he received from fans across the country, Samson said the prayers from supporters meant more to him than any personal achievement.“I think that is much, much bigger than anything for me in this life. I want to thank each and every one of you out there who has wished for me, who has prayed for me. Thank you so much, and this means the world to me. You definitely can have a dream, you can definitely think that that’s what you want to achieve, but you can’t plan the way to get there. That is something only one person can do. I actually lost it,” Samson added.Ahead of the T20 World Cup, the wicketkeeper-batter endured a difficult home T20I series against the Black Caps, where he managed just 46 runs across five matches. Samson revealed that he believed his dream had been shattered after the series against New Zealand.“I think I left it alone after the New Zealand Series. I thought my dream was broken. I actually wanted to do this, wanted to be the man for India in this World Cup, but after the New Zealand Series, I thought that I didn’t utilise my opportunity, and the dream is broken. But I think the world and God’s grace, things turned around, and I’m very happy that what has happened here,” Samson concluded.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Hussain Talat, Abdul Samad, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi(c), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz(c), Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana

NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has firmly dismissed allegations that pitches in India are “tailored” to favour the home side, saying the team is far too strong to even consider such tactics.Speaking after India’s successful campaign in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Gambhir said criticism about pitch conditions often surfaces only to stir controversy and attract attention.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I don’t agree to that. Why would you tailor something? And honestly, India is too good a team to be even thinking about something like that,” Gambhir said in an interview with ANI.He pointed out that India’s ability to post big totals is not limited to home conditions, highlighting similar high-scoring performances in countries like Australia and South Africa.

“In the T20 format, whether you look in Australia or South Africa, we made 200 runs. If we make 200 runs in India, then the wickets get tailored. So I think some people want to create a controversy. Statements given for views and TRPs should not be acceptable,” he said.The former opener also stressed that pitch preparation during global tournaments is overseen by the International Cricket Council and not the Board of Control for Cricket in India.ALSO READ: Team India Report Card: Perfect finish to a not-so-perfect T20 World Cup campaign“Because sometimes it is important to give players a lot of credit as well. It’s not like we made such big scores only in Indian conditions. In ICC tournaments, they control the wickets. It’s not the BCCI that controls them,” Gambhir said.Citing an example from the group stage clash against Pakistan in Colombo, Gambhir noted that India posted a big total on a turning surface while other teams struggled to reach competitive scores.“We even played a match in Colombo against Pakistan where we made around 180 and the rest of the teams were making 140. We defeated Pakistan by a huge margin and no one questioned the pitch there,” he said.Gambhir added that modern T20 cricket naturally produces big scores because the format is heavily tilted in favour of batters.“No one wants to come and watch a 120-run T20 game. Everyone wants to watch high-scoring matches. This is a worldwide phenomenon — in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England as well,” he explained.

This week, twenty-five years ago, few were giving Indian cricket any hope. Bruised, sullied from the match-fixing scandal barely a year before and fighting to save face, here was a rudderless team hosting Steve Waugh’s ‘Invincibles’. What unfolded would change Indian cricket forever. TOI revisits a watershed moment…Eyes twinkling, she was bounding down the stairs when she suddenly stopped. The Eden Gardens ground floor lobby was swarming with journalists, officials and hangerson as the Indian cricket captain, just a year into the job, walked out of the dressing-room, opened the glass door and waded into the delirious pool. Sourav Ganguly, yet to change out of his whites, looked up, gave Mrs Ganguly a beaming smile and said, rather loudly, “After the press conference…”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!But his liquid gaze conveyed a deepseated yet effusive joy that can never be lost in translation — even after 25 long summers. “Yes, we did it, love,” he simply conveyed.Memories bring diamonds and rust and that 30-second vignette and what preceded at the Eden Gardens remains the shining light in Indian cricket after the dust settled down long after Steve Waugh’s “Invincibles” returned from the final frontier.It was the summer of 2001. Indian cricket was gasping for fresh air to clear away the stench of the match-fixing scandal that refused to leave the white flannel. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had censured former captain Mohammed Azharuddin with a lifetime ban and Ajay Jadeja with a five-year banishment. Sachin Tendulkar spurned captaincy leaving a dangerous void that needed immediate attention. Under such undesirable circumstances, Ganguly was given the charge of a rudderless ship, a decision that would go on to pay a multi-fold dividend.

The team hit the ground running with a 3-2 One-day win over South Africa, and in came Steve Waugh’s Australia for a three-Test series on the back of 15 consecutive Test victories. Comparisons with Donald Bradman’s Invincibles of 1948 were part of the dinner table conversations and the Australians were on the Waugh-path in Mumbai. Finishing off the first Test match within three days, the Australians lived up to their reputation that preceded them taking their tally to 16.Kolkata, just renamed two months before, was their next stop. Captain Waugh scored a century – his lone one in India — and his bowlers including the irrepressible Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne bared open India’s usual failings, reducing them to a hard, long chase in the match.A small blip or a bump on the road shook the Australians in the first innings. A sprightly young off-spinner, who grew up to become Bhajji, trapped Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist in front off two successive balls and then scalped Shane Warne with the third to become the first ever Indian to notch up a Test cricket hat-trick. Harbhjahan Singh’s youthful impudence (7/123) was rather unscripted allowing the packed audience to dance in the prospect of a fight.The visitors failed to read the writing on the wall. So did the scribes in the press box who were mostly convinced of an Australian victory.Ganguly’s team wasn’t up for a hiding without hitting back.

Waugh enforced a follow-on after India succumbed in the first innings and he rued his decision long after the last ball was bowled by none other than Harbhajan as the shadows lengthened on the Eden pitch three days on. Scoring a fighting half century amid the crumbling edifice of the Indian batting in the first innings, VVS Laxman earned a promotion to bat at No 3 when Waugh forced the follow-on.Through Day Four Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted and chiselled a sporting sculpture that can draw parallels with Michelangelo’s David if you are an art buff. If political history is your calling, you can think of Stalingrad.The match turned on its head. The magnitude of the fall may be grasped by the fact that it was the Australian wicket-keeper, Adam Gilchrist’s first taste of defeat in Test cricket since his debut in Nov ’99, 15 Tests prior.The match turned, so did the fortunes of Indian cricket led by the redoubtable Ganguly who had left the visiting captain waiting pitchside before the toss, just to make a point. Taking the fight to the opposition, psychologically and tactically, was his brainchild, unheard of in Indian cricket annals.Asked about the fallout of the reversal, the Australian captain said, “The sun will rise tomorrow.” It really shone on Ganguly’s India.The third Test in Chennai was another streetfight and young Harbhajan ended up with 32 wickets helping India wrap up a Test series against the high and mighty. Though the impact of the series win wasn’t felt immediately.The Eden Test was the inflection point where Ganguly’s team turned the corner. From the unflushed, odorous path to the tree-lined avenue of sporting greatness.Twenty-five years on, the Eden Test match remains a dangling conversation without the superficial sighs.