The IPL 2026 schedule ran from late March to May 31, 2026, ending with Royal Challengers Bengaluru defending their crown against Gujarat Titans in the final at Ahmedabad. If you followed the season on our IPL live score page, this is the complete record: every key date, the full playoff results, the award winners, and every IPL champion from 2008 to 2026 — plus what to expect from the IPL 2027 schedule. For live cricket beyond the IPL, our cricket live scores hub covers every international series and league ball by ball.
IPL 2026 Schedule: Key Dates and Playoff Results
The business end of the season was packed into six decisive days. Here are the dates that decided the title — the playoff week that defined the IPL 2026 schedule:
| Date | Match | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26 | Qualifier 1: RCB vs GT | Dharamshala | RCB won by 92 runs — straight to the Final |
| May 27 | Eliminator: SRH vs RR | — | Sunrisers Hyderabad eliminated |
| May 29 | Qualifier 2: GT vs RR | Mullanpur | GT won by 7 wickets (Gill 104 off 53) |
| May 31 | Final: RCB vs GT | Ahmedabad | RCB won by 5 wickets — champions |
RCB’s Qualifier 1 win continued a remarkable trend: the Qualifier 1 winner has now lifted the trophy in nine straight IPL seasons. Six days, four matches — the playoff stretch packed the entire IPL 2026 schedule’s drama into one week.
IPL 2026 Final: How RCB Defended Their Title
Gujarat Titans batted first in the final and never got going. Josh Hazlewood removed Shubman Gill early, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed the in-form Sai Sudharsan, and Rasikh Salam’s 3 for 27 ripped through the middle order — only Washington Sundar’s fighting unbeaten 50 off 37 balls carried GT to 155 for 8.
The chase was the Virat Kohli show. After Venkatesh Iyer’s rapid 32 off 16 gave RCB a flying start, Kohli took control with an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls — including his fastest IPL fifty, off just 25 balls — and finished the job with a six. RCB reached 161 for 5 in 18 overs, winning with 12 balls to spare and becoming only the third franchise after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back IPL titles.
IPL 2026 Awards: Orange Cap, Purple Cap and More
The season belonged to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals, who swept five individual awards — an IPL first:
| Award | Winner | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Orange Cap (most runs) | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 776 runs, SR 237.30 |
| Purple Cap (most wickets) | Kagiso Rabada (GT) | 29 wickets, econ 9.68 |
| Most Valuable Player | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 436.50 MVP points |
| Emerging Player | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | Youngest Orange Cap winner ever |
| Super Striker | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 237.30 strike rate |
| Most Sixes | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 72 (broke Gayle’s record of 59) |
| Most Fours | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | 75 fours |
| Player of the Final | Virat Kohli (RCB) | 75* off 42 |
| Most Dot Balls | Mohammed Siraj (GT) | 172 dot balls |
| Catch of the Season | Manish Pandey (KKR) | Blinder to dismiss Tim David |
| Fair Play Award | Punjab Kings | — |
Sooryavanshi’s numbers were historic: the fastest to 1,000 IPL runs by balls faced (440), the first player to score 500 powerplay runs in a single season, and the first since Chris Gayle in 2011 to top both the runs and strike-rate charts. Rabada’s Purple Cap was his second, after 2020 with Delhi Capitals — he edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28 wickets) by one, sealing it with Devdutt Padikkal’s wicket in the final. Shubman Gill (732) and Sai Sudharsan (722) finished second and third in the run charts. Both races went down to the final week of the IPL 2026 schedule.
IPL Winners List: Every Champion 2008–2026
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rajasthan Royals | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2009 | Deccan Chargers | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2010 | Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai Indians |
| 2011 | Chennai Super Kings | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kings XI Punjab |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians | Rising Pune Supergiant |
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2019 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2020 | Mumbai Indians | Delhi Capitals |
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Gujarat Titans |
| 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Punjab Kings |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Gujarat Titans |
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings remain the most successful franchises with five titles each; RCB’s back-to-back wins in 2025 and 2026 make them the fourth-most successful with two.
IPL 2027 Schedule: Expected Dates and Key Windows
The IPL 2027 schedule has not been officially announced, but the tournament’s rhythm is well established: expect the season to open in the last week of March 2027 and run through the last week of May 2027, with around 74 matches across ten venues in India. Evening games start at 7:30 PM IST and afternoon double-header games at 3:30 PM IST:
| Slot | India (IST) | Pakistan (PKT) | UK (BST) | US Eastern (EDT) | Sydney (AEST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening match | 7:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 10:00 AM | 12:00 AM* |
| Afternoon match | 3:30 PM | 3:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 8:00 PM |
*Next day.
The player auction ahead of the season usually takes place in December or January — watch for retention announcements from all ten franchises around November 2026. A quick way to track it: search the fixture on Google for auto-converted start times, or follow IPL news as a topic in Google News. And when the first ball of 2027 is bowled, our IPL live score page will carry every game ball by ball, just as it did all through 2026. Until then, the complete IPL 2026 schedule above remains the definitive record of the season.
IPL 2026: FAQs
Who won IPL 2026?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won IPL 2026, beating Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets in the final on May 31 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. It was RCB’s second title and their second in a row.
What was the score in the IPL 2026 final?
Gujarat Titans scored 155/8 in 20 overs; Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased 156, reaching 161/5 in 18 overs to win by 5 wickets with 12 balls remaining. Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 75 off 42 won Player of the Match.
Who won the Orange Cap in IPL 2026?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals, with 776 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 237.30 — including a record 72 sixes. At 15, he is the youngest Orange Cap winner in IPL history.
Who won the Purple Cap in IPL 2026?
Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans, with 29 wickets in 17 matches. It was his second Purple Cap after 2020; he finished one wicket ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28).
When does IPL 2027 start?
The official IPL 2027 schedule is not out yet, but the season is expected to run from the last week of March 2027 through the last week of May 2027, following the tournament’s usual window.
Where can I follow IPL live scores ball by ball?
Our IPL live score page covers every IPL match with ball-by-ball scores, scorecards, schedules, and results — it carried the entire 2026 season and will cover 2027 from the first game.
Final Thoughts
IPL 2026 gave us a 15-year-old rewriting the record books and a franchise finally learning how to win — RCB’s back-to-back titles ended years of heartbreak in style. Keep this page bookmarked: the full IPL 2026 schedule is above, and as soon as the IPL 2027 schedule drops, the key dates will be right here alongside it. For researchers and fans alike, this IPL 2026 schedule page remains the definitive season record. Until then, every future ball is on our IPL live score page.