Eden Gardens will host the IPL 2025 opener on March 22 and the final on May 25, marking the first final in Kolkata in a decade. The tournament includes 74 matches over 65 days, featuring KKR vs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opener. Hyderabad will host Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator. Teams are grouped into two, with KKR, RCB, Royals, CSK, and Punjab in one group, while SRH, Capitals, Titans, Mumbai, and LSG make up the other. Several teams will play three afternoon matches, and Punjab will have three consecutive home games in Dharamsala.
This will mark the first final in Kolkata in ten years, with Eden Gardens having previously hosted the title matches in 2013 and 2015.
The other two playoff matches—Qualifier 1 on May 20 and the Eliminator on May 21—are scheduled to be played in Hyderabad, the home of the 2024 runners-up, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, and Gujarat Titans will each play three afternoon matches, while the remaining seven teams will compete in two day matches. Last year, the afternoon matches commenced at 3:30 PM IST.
A total of 13 venues are included in the schedule: the primary bases for each of the 10 teams, along with Guwahati (the second home venue for Royals), Visakhapatnam (the second home venue for Capitals), and Dharamsala (the second home venue for Punjab). Guwahati and Vizag will host two matches each, while Dharamsala will see three matches played.
Traditionally, Punjab has played two games per season at the beautiful HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. This season, however, the IPL has added an extra match at this location, with Capitals, Mumbai, and LSG as Punjab’s opponents. These three matches are scheduled between May 4 and May 11, making Punjab the only team with three consecutive home games. While several teams will experience back-to-back match schedules with short breaks, none will face three straight away matches.
For example, CSK and Mumbai will match up twice, even though they are not in the same group.
After their contest on March 23, CSK and Mumbai will face off again on April 20, another Sunday evening, with Mumbai hosting the Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium. Four teams—RCB, Mumbai, Punjab, and LSG—will play their opening matches away, with their first home matches taking place in April. RCB, who made a remarkable turnaround to reach the playoffs last season after securing six consecutive wins following just one win in their initial eight matches, will end their league run with a concentrated series of home games: four of their final six matches will occur at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.