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New Delhi: The governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have confirmed that the 7th edition of the domestic T20 tournament will get underway on the 16th of April.
The opening match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi between defending champions Mumbai Indians and 2012 IPL winners Kolkata Knight Riders.
The IPL governing council has also confirmed that the first phase of the tournament will feature 20 matches played from April 16th to April 3oth. The matches in this phase will be played at 3 venues -- Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The IPL is being moved out of the country for the first two phases this year due to the upcoming general elections in the country.
The venues and the dates were confirmed on twitter by the official IPL account.
This is the second time the event has had to be forced out of the country due to elections. In 2009, the entire tournament had to be shifted to South Africa, a country which was in contention to host the event even this time.
Due to the lesser number of teams, the duration of the league has also been shortened this time to 47 days and 60 matches -- much less than the 76 games played last season which was spread over 54 days.
IPL fixtures for first phase
