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The Playbold Expedition follows Royal Challengers Bengaluru across India for IPL 2027: three Mahindras, 8 cities, every match.

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IPL 2027 fixtures awaited8 cities planned6,860 km of road

Three Mahindras leave homebefore the first ball.

A packed stand of fans in red with flags and scarves up
From the back seat: two crew in caps, the highway and the lead Thar Roxx ahead in golden light

Three Mahindras leave Bengaluru before the first ball. They drive to every match, film the road in, eat in every city, and stand in the red sea when the floodlights come on. One season. One team. The whole country in between.

A full stadium bowl from the upper tier, every stand a sea of red with red and gold flags

The season in numbers

6,860km

of Indian highway between the home ground and the last away match.

8cities, one match in each
55days on the road, 3 cars, one team
Map of India with the expedition route through 8 citiesBengaluruMumbaiChennaiHyderabadKolkataDelhiJaipurAhmedabad

Route

BLR leg 1 of 8

Bengaluru · home

27 Mar, tbc · M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

The season starts here

Home. The red sea starts at the Cubbon Park gates.

The Bengaluru chapter →

  1. Bengaluru
  2. Mumbai
  3. Chennai
  4. Hyderabad
  5. Kolkata
  6. Delhi
  7. Jaipur
  8. Ahmedabad

Illustrative route and dates until the official IPL 2027 fixtures are published.

The full route and schedule

City chapters

Eight grounds, eight cities, one road. Tap a code to jump to its chapter.

BLRBengaluru
Floodlights over the Chinnaswamy, seen from the Cubbon Road side at dusk.Home
BOMMumbai
Marine Drive at 7pm, tail-lamps on wet tarmac, the Wankhede's lights behind.Sea air, sodium light, and a stadium that smells of the Arabian Sea
MAAChennai
Chepauk from the Wallajah Road end, heat haze over the stands at 4pm.Heat, humidity, and the most patient cricket crowd in India
HYDHyderabad
The Uppal stadium's lights seen from the flyover, a dhaba in the foreground.Biryani steam and a stadium out on the Uppal road
CCUKolkata
Eden Gardens' floodlight pylons over the Maidan at blue hour.The old cathedral of Indian cricket, yellow taxis, and a city that stays up
DELDelhi
The Kotla's stands from Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg at golden hour, dust in the air.Dry heat, old stone, and a ground in the middle of the city
JAIJaipur
The SMS Stadium's floodlights above Jaipur's sandstone walls at dusk.Pink walls, desert light, and the shortest drive of the season
AMDAhmedabad
The Motera stadium's rim from the Sabarmati riverfront at night.The biggest stadium on Earth, and a city that eats at 10pm
Floodlights over the Chinnaswamy, seen from the Cubbon Road side at dusk.

Floodlights over the Chinnaswamy, seen from the Cubbon Road side at dusk.

Filter coffee in a steel tumbler at 6am, benne dosa with a slab of butter that outlasts the dosa, and a plate of Mangalore buns at a darshini counter, standing up.

Filter coffee in a steel tumbler at 6am

BLR · 27 Mar, tbcBengaluru

Home. The red sea starts at the Cubbon Park gates.

The Chinnaswamy is small and loud and the boundary is short. The crowd sings the whole innings. When the home side chases, the stadium leans forward.

The Bengaluru chapter →

What we found

  • The convoy parks on Cubbon Road and a hundred phones come out.
  • The Metro at Cubbon Park at 6pm is a red river.
  • A dosa seller near the stadium has done the match-night rush for twenty-two years.
Marine Drive at 7pm, tail-lamps on wet tarmac, the Wankhede's lights behind.

Marine Drive at 7pm, tail-lamps on wet tarmac, the Wankhede's lights behind.

Vada pav from the cart outside Churchgate, keema pav at an Irani cafe with bentwood chairs, and a kulfi on Chowpatty after the game.

Vada pav from the cart outside Churchgate

BOM · 2 Apr, tbcMumbai

Sea air, sodium light, and a stadium that smells of the Arabian Sea.

Wankhede's North Stand has the best chants in the league and it will let an away team know. Dew comes in after nine and the chase gets easier.

The Mumbai chapter →

What we found

  • Three white Mahindras on Marine Drive at night stop traffic that never stops.
  • A sea breeze through the stands at the 15th over.
  • Churchgate at 11pm after a win: the station sings.
Chepauk from the Wallajah Road end, heat haze over the stands at 4pm.

Chepauk from the Wallajah Road end, heat haze over the stands at 4pm.

Idli and sambar at a mess in Mylapore, a filter coffee that beats Bengaluru's (they say), and a plate of fish curry at a Marina stall at midnight.

Idli and sambar at a mess in Mylapore

MAA · 9 Apr, tbcChennai

Heat, humidity, and the most patient cricket crowd in India.

Chepauk applauds good cricket from either side. Spin grips here. The stands are close and the humidity makes every run feel earned.

The Chennai chapter →

What we found

  • The convoy's white paint turns gold at 5pm on the East Coast Road.
  • Chepauk's crowd stood for a visiting fifty.
  • Marina Beach at 6am: forty cricket games on one strip of sand.
The Uppal stadium's lights seen from the flyover, a dhaba in the foreground.

The Uppal stadium's lights seen from the flyover, a dhaba in the foreground.

Dum biryani with the lid sealed in dough, Irani chai with Osmania biscuits at 4pm, and haleem if the season allows it.

Dum biryani with the lid sealed in dough

HYD · 16 Apr, tbcHyderabad

Biryani steam and a stadium out on the Uppal road.

Uppal is a big ground with a long walk from the gates and a crowd that arrives late and stays loud. Flat pitch; sixes travel.

The Hyderabad chapter →

What we found

  • A biryani cook asked which car was fastest and then fed the whole crew.
  • The flyover to Uppal at match time is a parade.
  • The Charminar at midnight, red tail-lamps on the old stones.
Eden Gardens' floodlight pylons over the Maidan at blue hour.

Eden Gardens' floodlight pylons over the Maidan at blue hour.

Kathi rolls off a Park Street tawa, puchka from a cart at Vivekananda Park, and mishti doi in a clay pot that you keep.

Kathi rolls off a Park Street tawa

CCU · 25 Apr, tbcKolkata

The old cathedral of Indian cricket, yellow taxis, and a city that stays up.

Eden is history. The noise comes from a long way up and stays. The ground is huge and the outfield is fast; the crowd knows the game cold.

The Kolkata chapter →

What we found

  • Howrah Bridge at 1am, three Mahindras, zero other traffic.
  • A tea-stall argument about the batting order that lasted the whole tea.
  • Eden's upper tier at the toss: a wall of sound before a ball is bowled.
The Kotla's stands from Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg at golden hour, dust in the air.

The Kotla's stands from Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg at golden hour, dust in the air.

Chole bhature in Paharganj for breakfast, kebabs in a Jama Masjid lane after dark, and a glass of lassi thick enough to stand a spoon in.

Chole bhature in Paharganj for breakfast

DEL · 3 May, tbcDelhi

Dry heat, old stone, and a ground in the middle of the city.

The Kotla is compact and the boundaries are short. The May heat is the twelfth man; the crowd arrives in the second innings and stays till the end.

The Delhi chapter →

What we found

  • The ring road at dawn with the gold stripes catching first light.
  • A kebab seller kept the shop open for the crew at 1am.
  • The Kotla's old stand at 7pm, the whole thing in shadow and noise.
The SMS Stadium's floodlights above Jaipur's sandstone walls at dusk.

The SMS Stadium's floodlights above Jaipur's sandstone walls at dusk.

Pyaaz kachori at a Johari Bazaar counter, dal baati churma served by hand, and ghewar in a box that doesn't survive the drive.

Pyaaz kachori at a Johari Bazaar counter

JAI · 9 May, tbcJaipur

Pink walls, desert light, and the shortest drive of the season.

SMS is small and intimate and the sun sets behind the pavilion. A dry pitch; the ball skids on. The crowd is close enough to hear the keeper.

The Jaipur chapter →

What we found

  • Amber Fort road at 6am with the convoy in dust light.
  • A kachori seller sent the crew off with a box for the road.
  • Jaipur's walls at sunset are the same red as the car stripes.
The Motera stadium's rim from the Sabarmati riverfront at night.

The Motera stadium's rim from the Sabarmati riverfront at night.

Dabeli from a cart in Manek Chowk after dark, a full Gujarati thali at noon, and fafda-jalebi on a Sunday morning.

Dabeli from a cart in Manek Chowk after dark

AMD · 16 May, tbcAhmedabad

The biggest stadium on Earth, and a city that eats at 10pm.

The ground holds a hundred and thirty thousand and still sounds close. The outfield is huge; running twos is a sport in itself.

The Ahmedabad chapter →

What we found

  • Manek Chowk at 11pm, the whole crew eating off one cart.
  • The stadium rim seen from the riverfront is the size of a weather front.
  • Last leg: the white paint has every city's dust on it.

The convoy

Three cars, three jobs. Named after deliveries, because every one of them arrives differently.

Yorker Car 01 · Mahindra Thar Roxx · Lead car

Model
Mahindra Thar Roxx, five-door
Engine
2.2 L mHawk diesel
Drive
4XPLOR four-wheel drive with low range
Ground clearance
226 mm
Yorker: Lead car. Scouts the road and carries the forward camera rig.

A yorker is fast, low and first to arrive. This car is always ahead of the convoy, finding the shot before the others get there.

It wears the most dust →

Bouncer Car 02 · Mahindra Scorpio N · Kit car

Model
Mahindra Scorpio N
Engine
2.2 L mHawk diesel, 175 PS
Chassis
Body-on-frame ladder chassis
Drive
4XPLOR four-wheel drive with terrain modes
Bouncer: Kit car. Carries gear, drone, power and the crew's food.

A bouncer rides high and carries weight. This is the heavy car: drone cases, lights, a fridge, and spares for all three.

The kitchen, the charging station and the spares shop →

Googly Car 03 · Mahindra XUV700 · Host car

Model
Mahindra XUV700
Engine
2.0 L mStallion turbo-petrol, 200 PS
Roof
Panoramic sunroof, open for every stadium approach
Driver aid
Level 2 driver assistance on the highway
Googly: Host car. The one that turns around to film the other two.

A googly turns the other way. This car drives with a rear-facing rig and films the convoy from inside the convoy.

The hosts ride here →

The crew

Four people, three cars, no faces. You'll know them by the backs of their heads and the shots they bring home.

The driver-host, seen from behind
The driver-host

Leads the convoy, talks to every dhaba owner, and finds the parking spot with the view.

The camera, seen from behind
The camera

Rides in the tailgate of the third car facing backwards so the convoy is always in frame.

The drone and the sound, seen from behind
The drone and the sound

Gets the convoy from above on every highway and the stadium from the car park at dusk.

The fixer, seen from behind
The fixer

Books the dhabas, the fuel, the permissions and the 1am kebabs.

Film reel

Every episode and city film

  • Episode 1 · The night beforeBengaluru, the convoy leaves at 4am9 min
  • Episode 2 · NH48 to the seaBengaluru to Mumbai in one golden hour11 min
  • Episode 3 · FloodlightsThe car park at 7:25pm8 min
  • City film · ChennaiForty games of beach cricket6 min
  • City film · KolkataHowrah at 1am7 min
  • City film · JaipurThe shortest drive of the season6 min

Where are you cheering from?

Tell the convoy your city and send the crew a line. The crew reads every message; the good ones go up here and into the films.

We keep your city, your message and the name you give, nothing else. To take one down, write to hello@playboldexpedition.in

Ride with us

Your mark on three cars that drive through eight cities and park outside every match of the season.

Side view of the Playbold Thar Roxx with the partner placements marked
  1. Bonnet bandTitle partner
  2. Front doorGold letters, title partner
  3. Rear doorRoundel, the convoy's own mark
  4. Rear quarterConvoy partners
  5. Windscreen stripCity partner
  1. 1 Bonnet band: Title partner
  2. 2 Front door: Gold letters, title partner
  3. 3 Rear door: Roundel, the convoy's own mark
  4. 4 Rear quarter: Convoy partners
  5. 5 Windscreen strip: City partner
8cities reached
8matchdays on the ground
6,860km of highway footage
3episodes a week, planned

Put your name on the bonnet of three cars for one season and be the title partner.

Ride the rear quarter through eight cities and get a segment in every city film as a convoy partner.

Own the film about your city and the night the convoy parks at your ground as a city partner.

The partner pitch →

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The road diary lands in your inbox the morning after every match. Short, with pictures.

Fans in red streaming out of a floodlit stadium past auto-rickshaws and a chai stall
© The Playbold Expedition · IPL 2027 · An independent fan expedition, not affiliated with the team or the league.Pictures and film generated for this site. Credits.