MUMBAI: After the Kabaddi extravaganza, its back to cricket again. The sixth edition of the Champions League T20 kicks off today at Raipur, beginning with the qualifying rounds. Star Sports which is the rights owner this time will be showing all the matches live on Star Sports1 and Star Sports HD. Live streaming will also be available on starsports.com.
In terms of innovation, a drone camera will be used for the first time to get the best images from the stadiums.
In the first game, Lahore Lions will take on defending CL T20 champions Mumbai Indians followed by New Zealand’s Northern Knights who will play against Southern Express of Sri Lanka. The qualifying stage of 2014 Champions League T20 kicks off on 13 September and will last till 16 September, after which the tournament gets underway.
The qualifiers will see four teams: Mumbai Indians (India), Lahore Lions (Pakistan), Northern Knights (New Zealand) and Southern Express (Sri Lanka). These four teams will play each other once and, at the end of it, the two top teams of the qualifiers will progress to the next stage.
The inaugural match would be played on 17 September at Hyderabad with the reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Chennai Super Kings.
Oppo Mobiles have bagged the title sponsorship while Birla White is the central associate sponsor.
The tournament will be played from 13 September to 4 October 2014 at Raipur, Mohali, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The tournament will follow a format similar to the three previous editions, with a Group Stage preceded by a Qualifier. A total of 29 matches will be played in the competition, on 19 match-days. There will be 10 double-headers, the semi-finals included.
Raipur will host eight matches. These will comprise two Group Stage games, plus all six Qualifier matches. The Qualifier matches will be double-headers.
Hyderabad will host five group matches, including one double-header. The city will also host the semi-finals on 2 October, which will be a double-header. Bengaluru will host six matches, including two double-headers. The city will also host the Oppo CLT20 final on 4 October 2014. Mohali will host seven group matches, including three double-headers.
