The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the fixtures for VIVO Indian Premier League 2021. After a span of two years, the T20 carnival returns to the Indian shores. The much-awaited season will get underway with a blockbuster clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 9 in Chennai. One of the major highlights of this edition of the IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue.

? BCCI announces schedule for VIVO IPL 2021 ?

The season will kickstart on 9th April in Chennai and the final will take place on May 30th at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

More details here - https://t.co/yKxJujGGcD #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/qfaKS6prAJ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 7, 2021

Six cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata - have been designated to host the marquee tournament. The newly-built Narendra Modi Stadium will host the knockouts and the final. This edition of the IPL will initially be played behind closed doors. A call on permitting spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament based on how things pan out. 

The evening matches are scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm IST, while the afternoon matches will start at 3:30 pm IST. Each team will play at four venues during the league phase of the competition. There will be a total of 11 double-headers in the group stages of the tournament, with six teams playing three-afternoon matches each, and two teams playing two. Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 games apiece while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight games. To minimize commute, the schedule is formulated in such a way that the teams will only travel only three times during the league phase. 

The moment we've all been waiting for! The fixtures for #IPL2021 are out! ?

Which RCB game are you looking forward to the most, 12th Man Army??#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/WXj353JQqc

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 7, 2021

After successfully hosting the tournament in the UAE last year with all safety procedures in place, the BCCI is convinced of hosting the IPL at home.