Cricket News: Defending champion Mumbai Indians to face CSK in IPL opener

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face three-time winners Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi in the opening match of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the revamped schedule of which was finally revealed on Sunday. The tournament starts on September 19 and will be entirely in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) behind closed doors amid the Covid-19 pandemic. MI and CSK were originally scheduled to play the opening match of the 2020 season at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on March 29. However the outbreak of the pandemic in India and the subsequent lockdown led to the tournament being postponed indefinitely. The final league clash in this edition will be played between the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians in Sharjah on November 3. The venues and dates for playoffs and final will be announced later. Dubai will host 24 matches, while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will play host to 20 and 12 games respectively.