Sunrisers Hyderabad to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL opener

Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 2016 champion, will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of Season 10 of the Indian Premier League.

BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, 29/05/2016: Sunrisers Hyderabad team celebrates with the trophy after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket championship 2016, defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA) in Bengaluru on May 29, 2016. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

2016 champion Sunrisers Hyderabad will host Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, according to the fixtures schedule announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday. Season 10, which is scheduled to begin on April 5, will span 47 days and 10 venues, one of which will be Indore.

Each team will play 14 matches, with seven at its home venue. The Holkar Stadium in Indore, on which the now defunct team Kochi Tuskers Kerala played two matches in 2011, will this year host Kings XI Punjab for three of its first-round matches.

The knockout round begins on May 16, and the final, also to be held in Hyderabad, will be held on May 21, 2017.