MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Chennai Super Kings, in the inaugural group match of the Champions League Twenty20 2014, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, on 17 September 2014.
India will host the sixth edition of the world's premier domestic T20 competition from 13 September 2014 to 4 October 2014. 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.
The Qualifier will start from 13 September with the main tournament, comprising 10 teams, scheduled to begin from 17 September in Hyderabad.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings apart, Group A will comprise Dolphins (winners of South Africa's domestic T20 competition), Perth Scorchers (Big Bash League winners), and a team from the CLT20 2014 Qualifier.
Group B will feature Hobart Hurricanes (Big Bash League runners-up), the winner of the domestic T20 competition in the West Indies, Kings XI Punjab (runners-up in IPL 2014), Cape Cobras (runners-up in South Africa’s domestic T20 competition), and a team from the CLT20 2014 Qualifier.
Each side will play the other four in its group once, with the top two sides from each group going through to the semi-finals.
BCCI honorable secretary Sanjay Patel said, “The Group stage matches will be played at Mohali, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Raipur. The Qualifier will be played at Raipur. The CLT20 Governing Council has confirmed the teams that will compete for a total prize money of US $ 6 million.”
The CLT20 2014 Qualifier, to be played till 16 September, will feature four teams – Mumbai Indians (fourth-ranked team in IPL 2014), Northern Knights (winners of New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition), Southern Express (winners of Sri Lanka’s domestic T20 tournament) and Lahore Lions (Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition champions).
In the Qualifier, all teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to the Group Stage.
The top team from Group A will play the second-ranked team from Group B, and vice versa, in the semi-finals, both of which will be played at Hyderabad on 2 October. Bengaluru will host the final on 4 October.
