KKR to take on Daredevils in CLT20 opener

IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Delhi Daredevils, while South Africa's domestic Twenty20 champions Titans will square off against Australia's Perth Scorchers in the opening group games of the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa.u00a0

The group stage of the tournament will commence with a double-header at Centurion on October 13. The game between Titans and Perth Scorchers will be played first followed by the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils, who finished third in the IPL.

The final of the Champions League Twenty20 will be played on October 28 at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, an arena that has hosted the final of the World Cup 2003, the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, 2007 and the unforgettable '438' ODI between South Africa and Australia in 2006.

KKR skipper gautam gambhir with his Delhi Daredevils counterpart Virender Sehwag. File Pic

The fourth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 will feature a total of 14 teams and 29 matches across four venues -- Centurion, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The Group Stage will be preceded by a Qualifying Stage from October 9 to October 11 featuring six teams. These teams have been equally divided into two pools with each team playing the other two in its pool once. The top team in each pool, in terms of points, will then qualify for the Group Stage. If teams from the same pool are equal on points, the qualifier will be decided by net run rate.

"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," said Chairman of the Champions League Twenty20 Governing Council N Srinivasan.

"The tournament will feature the world's top players, and we can be assured of some exceptional cricket," he added.

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 Stage:

The Group Stage will comprise 10 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.

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.