Defending champions Mumbai Indians will host two-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in the opening game of the Indian Premier League 2018 on Saturday, April 7, the BCCI informed on Wednesday as the fixture list for the upcoming edition was released.

The final will also be held at the Wankhede on May 27, a release from the BCCI stated.

The Board also clarified that there will be no change in the timings of the games.

“The upcoming edition will feature 12 matches that will be played at 4pm IST and 48 matches will start at 8pm IST,” the release added.

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A proposal was made to shift the 8 pm matches to 7 pm and postpone the 4 pm matches to 5.30 pm on weekends. But all eight teams were against the plan.

Meanwhile, the Board confirmed that Rajasthan Royals will play their home matches at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The Royals last played at the venue in 2013. They later shifted to Ahmedabad and then to Pune due to RCA’s suspension.

The release further stated that Kings XI Punjab will play their three of their home matches in Indore and four matches in Mohali.

Key dates

Start date: April 7
League dates: April 7- May 20
Final date: May 27