KKR, DD to face off on CLT20 opening day

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL champions, and Delhi Daredevils will be part of the same group and play each other as one half of an opening-day double-header in the Champions League Twenty20 in October.

The fourth edition of the tournament - which is the most lucrative Twenty20 league in the world - will comprise 14 teams and 29 matches from October 13-28 in South Africa and be preceded by a qualifying phase held between October 9 and 11 from which two teams will gain entry to the main round to compete with the others. The tournament will be spread across four cities – Centurion, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The group stage will consist of ten teams divided into two groups of five. Each side will play the other four in their group with the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals.

The fourth edition of the tournament will run from October 13-28 across four South African venues.

The opening day of the tournament at Centurion will comprise of a double-header in which Titans, South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 champions will play Australia’s domestic Twenty2o runners-up Perth Scorchers and KKR will play Delhi, who finished third in IPL 5.

The CLT20 final will be held at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on October 28.

“We are delighted to announce the match-schedule of the Champions League Twenty20 2012. This is the second time the tournament will be played in South Africa, and we have no doubt that it will be as, if not more successful, than the 2010 edition. The tournament will feature the world’s top players, and we can be assured of some exceptional cricket,” N Srinivasan, chairman of the CLT20 governing council, said.

Pool 1 – ECB 1 (winners of the ECB’s domestic T20 championship), Sialkot Stallions (Pakistan) and Auckland Aces (New Zealand).

Pool 2 – ECB 2 (runners-up in the ECB’s domestic T20 championship), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and the winners of Sri Lanka’s domestic T20 championship.

Group A – Kolkata Knight Riders (India), Titans (South Africa), Perth Scorchers (Australia), Delhi Daredevils (India) and Qualifier 1.

Group B – Chennai Super Kings (India), Highveld Lions (South Africa), Sydney Sixers (Australia), Mumbai Indians (India) and Qualifier 2.

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