The IPL season is really ramping up now with our first double header this Saturday.
The 1 day, 1 game schedule continues during the weekdays but the next 3 weekends see 2 matches on the Saturday and then another 2 on the Sunday. Important to remember if you're playing IPL Boundary Blackjack so that you don't miss a deadline to get your predictions in!
On that front, these 2 games also mark the start of Round 2 of IPL Boundary Blackjack. We've got 18 players in there already which means that there's going to be fierce competition once again for those top 3 places and with the double headers the scoring is going to move pretty quickly!
The double headers also bring in an extra factor for consideration because the earlier game (11am start BST) is a day/night match. In other words the first innings is played in the late afternoon sunshine while the floodlights take over for the 2nd innings.
Going all the way back to the original post I wrote on the impact of conditions, this adds an extra element for consideration.
So far we've seen every single side that has won the toss elect to bowl first but in a day night game the advantage of doing so isn't always so apparent.
Firstly, it can be damn hot in parts of India during the earlier part of the day (it can be pretty hot at night too) and that can be really draining for the side that is asked to field first who then have to come out and bat against opposition bowlers who have had their feet up in the air con for the last 2 hours.
Secondly, that heat and direct sunlight can dry out surfaces. We've seen some decent live grass covering on some of the pitches used which provides good pace and bounce. Exposed to a couple of hours direct sunlight, that live grass can quickly burn off and any moisture in the pitch be sucked up by the sun.
Whereas batting 2nd in a night game often means there's more moisture on the pitch (the dew factor) batting 2nd in a day/night game can mean a drier, potentially slower surface that offers more grip and turn for the bowlers.
Match 1 DC v MI
That being said, the first 2 teams to take part in a day/night game in IPL 2026 both have strong batting line-ups.
DC recovered from a precarious position of 26 for 4 to cruise past LSG in their opening match thanks to a wonderful innings from young Sameer Rizvi who put on 119 for the 5th wicket with Tristan Stubbs.
DC ultimately won with 17 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand including David Miller. They will of course want a better start in this game but they've already demonstrated the strength and depth of their batting line-up and I'd expect them to go hard in this one.
MI were the polar opposite with their opening partnership hitting 148 in just shy of 12 overs to break the back of what turned out to be the highest successful run chase in IPL history.
Ryan Rickleton, picked ahead of countryman QdK, repaid that faith with a great knock. The only downside was his needless run out when a maiden IPL century seemed within reach.
Rohit Sharma played some Rohit Sharma shots to get MI off to a flyer. Free from the burdens of captaincy and international cricket, if he can do that on a more consistent basis than he has done for some time in the IPL then Mumbai, with their powerful middle order to back him up, will be in a strong position indeed.
Santner and Jacks were both given time off for the opener while the likes of Deepak Chahar were also left on the bench. That kind of depth and competition for places makes this MI squad even scarier.
Whether we see those 2 come into the side for this match remains to be seen but I do think that spin is more likely to play its part in this game than it did MI's opener at the Wankhede.
We know that DC's trump cards are Kuldeep and captain Axar Patel. Between them they bowled 7 overs 3 for 48 against LSG while MI's 2 spinners bowled 5 overs 0 for 67 against KKR.
That being said, any bowler might struggle to restrict scoring based on the recent results at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Historically the pitches have turned here but in more recent seasons they've become a lot flatter.
The stadium tends to have some very short boundaries too meaning that even mishits of 60m can clear the fence - childs play for a few of the hitters on both these sides.
Match 2 - GT v RR
Anybody who truly loves cricket will always want to see the battle between fast bowlers, guys who really turn up the pace, and batsmen. It adds an extra dimension to the game that you just don't get with spinners and change-up bowlers.
Rajasthan gave a fantastic exhibition of fast bowling in their opening match demolition of CSK. Stumps were sent cartwheeling, batsmen were fending deliveries off their noses and generally the balance of the game, which in T20 is so often skewed in favour of the batters, was redressed.
The Royals will be keen to put in a similar performance against this strong GT batting line-up as they seek to go 2 for 2.
As for GT, they will be disappointed that both Gill and Buttler got starts (38 & 39 respectively) and then got out. Their game plan is very much based on at least 1 of their top 3 batting through the innings with the hitters coming in around them.
Incredibly, having managed 12 boundaries in the opening 10 overs of the game against LSG, they hit just 6 in the 2nd half of their innings with not a single six in the last 7 overs. That total loss of momentum is something they will be keen to address in this game.
Of course, we didn't really get to see how the Royals' own middle order might fair in similar circumstances because some 15-year-old who presumably had homework to do that evening was in a hurry to finish the game.
52 off 17 balls is what Sooryavanshi hit against a shell-shocked CSK side. The quality of opposition will undoubtedly be higher in this game but then again, this is the same team that as a 14-year-old last season, he smashed a century against!
There were some raised eyebrows when Rajasthan picked him up in the 2025 auction (he was only 13 at that point). I don't think there are many doubters out there now...
The pitches in Ahmedabad are, in my opinion, some of the best in the IPL. They give good bowlers displaying consistent skills a fair chance of picking up wickets, while batsmen can still trust the pace and bounce of most deliveries and get value for money for the shots they play.
The average scores and boundary count display that. You don't usually get the monster totals on this ground that you do on some of the others but similarly, it's rare to get a very low scoring match here.
The Royals had strong starts to their 2022, 2023 and 2024 campaigns to bolster their push for the playoffs on each occassion. It's very early days but 2 wins from 2 would probably mean they have to win half their remaining games to get a top 4 finish.
IPL Boundary Blackjack Round 1
We've got the final match of Round 1 happening today between CSK and PBKS.
It's going to be a close finish for top spot between the current top 2. 
Then in 3rd place 
10 points is hardly insurmountable but with it seeming unlikely that he'll go bust, the onus is on the chasing pack to risk a higher prediction to close that gap.
IPL Boundary Blackjack Round 2
Remember round 2 starts tomorrow, so enter now and begin making your predictions on the link below.
https://sportsblock.app/contests/ipl-boundary-blackjack/ipl-bb-2026-r2