IPL 2019 to start at usual prime slot of 8 pm

All league games of the Indian Premier League which is set to begin from March 23 will start at the usual prime slot of 8 pm, said COA chief Vinod Rai on Thursday.

The afternoon matches will start at 4 pm with the second match set to start from 8 pm.

There was speculation that the BCCI was under pressure to change the timings of the second match to 7 pm when most of the teams wanted the Board to stick to the 8 pm slot.

"Matches will begin at 8 pm," said Rai after the COA meeting.

Even last year, there was speculation that the matches will have an earlier 7 pm start but all league games began at 8 pm. However, the play-offs including the final began at 7 pm.

"We welcome the BCCI's decision to retain the match timings. Like last year, we wanted the games to have an 8 pm start," a team official told PTI.

Last month, the BCCI announced the schedule for the first two weeks of IPL while the full schedule will be announced after dates of the general elections are made public.

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener on March 23 in Chennai.