Northern Districts vs. Lahore Lions: CLT20 Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

Both Northern Districts and Lahore Lions won their opening qualifying fixtures on Saturday, despite the rain trying its best to spoil the party. That should set up a tasty match between the pair in qualifier three on Sunday. 

Venue: Chhattisgarh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur

Dates: Sunday, September 14

Start time: 11:30 a.m. BST (4:00 p.m. local time)

TV and live stream: STAR Cricket (India), Ten Sports/PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Eurosport (UK/Europe), SkyTV(New Zealand), Network Ten/Fox (Australia), CSN/Star Cricket (Sri Lanka), Star Cricket (Bangladesh), ESPN (USA and Caribbean), Willow Cricket (USA)

Weather: AccuWeather.com forecasts a relatively clear day with just the odd thunderstorm around. It shouldn't be significant enough to ruin the match, though.

Overview

Before the Champions League T20 main draw begins, these qualifying games are going to come thick and fast. Teams will have little rest before the competition kicks off in full on Friday, but the good news is that there’s no travelling involved in this leg of the tournament.

Teams will play all the qualifiers in Raipur, meaning as the qualification stages move forward, the sides also get a chance to adjust to conditions. As already mentioned, both the Northern Districts and the Lions won their opening fixture, with the New Zealand outfit currently sitting on top of the points table.

The Districts managed this despite needing to contend with Mother Nature. Their match was interrupted by rain and reduced to 10-overs-a-side against Southern Express. They had to chase down 93 in ten overs and did so with three balls to spare, thanks to a blitzkrieg 52 off 29 from Kane Williamson at the top of the order.

The Lions, meanwhile, were very impressive, reaching their 136-run target with eight balls remaining. It was an all-round team effort with the bowlers all contributing in one way or the other and the batsmen pottering along steadily.

It's too early to point out weaknesses of either side, but Northern Districts might be somewhat concerned that it was only Williamson who looked comfortable with the bat. The Lions have plenty of spinners in their attack so the Districts, or the Knights as they are otherwise known, will have to box clever in order to nullify them.

With both sides having won their opening fixtures the pressure is a little bit less, but with little room for error in the qualifications, this should be a cracking contest.

Key players 

Lahore Lions

Aizaz Cheema was the most impressive of the Lahore bowlers in the opening fixtures. He took two for 22 and had the second lowest economy rate of all the Pakistan bowlers. While the New Zealanders are likely to be more flummoxed by spin rather than pace, Lahore will still be happy that there is a bowler who can control things up front lurking in their midst.

Northern Districts

Kane Williamson is in excellent form with the bat and had a really good time with English county Yorkshire recently. It's clear that playing competitive cricket has helped him quite a bit. If he can continue to pile on the runs at the top of the order, his side will always have a chance.

Squads

Northern Districts

Ish Sodhi, Jono Boult, Brad Wilson, Kane Williamson, Daniel Flynn (captain), BJ Watling, Graeme Aldridge, Anton Devcich, Tim Southee, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Daniel Harris, Scott Styris, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner.

Lahore Lions

Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Siddiq , Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Salman Ali, Asif Raza, Mustafa Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema, Imran Ali, Saad Nasim, Adnan Rasool, Mohammad Saeed, Ali Manzoor.