Kolkata vs. Chennai : CLT20 Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

The heavyweights come to the party as the Champions League T20 competition moves into the main group stage, with 2014 Indian Premier League Champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on third-placed side Chennai Super Kings in an all-Indian Group A clash.

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

Dates: Wednesday, September 17

Start time: 3:30 p.m. BST (8 p.m. local time)

TV and live stream: STAR Sports 1 (India), Ten Sports/PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Eurosport (UK/Europe), Sky Sports (New Zealand), Network Ten/Fox (Australia), Star Cricket (Sri Lanka), Star Cricket (Bangladesh), ESPN (USA and Caribbean), Willow Cricket (USA)

Weather: The forecast in Hyderabad for the day is not looking good according to BBC Weather, with thunderstorms due in the morning and rain all afternoon. This should have cleared by the evening start so as long as the outfield has a chance to dry out, the game should play out uninterrupted.

Overview

Kolkata Knight Riders' phenomenal run to the 2014 IPL title was all about hot streaks. Robin Uthappa made scores of 40 or more in 10 consecutive innings on his way to claiming the Orange Cap as highest run-scorer, while KKR themselves recovered from five defeats in their opening seven games to storm their way to the title with nine wins on the bounce.

Full of confidence from that unbroken winning streak, KKR will hope to emulate Mumbai Indians, the 2013 IPL champions who went on the win the CLT20 last year.

The Knight Riders' turnaround after such a poor start speaks volumes for the team spirit and self-belief fostered by influential skipper Gautam Gambhir in recent seasons.

The captain's opening partnership with Uthappa brings together two of the most prolific run-scorers in the IPL, with both featuring in the top six all-time highest run-scorers according to ESPNcricinfo.

With Gambhir adding 335 to the 660 runs from Uthappa's bat, the pair contributed just shy of 1,000 runs to KKR's title-winning campaign, and the Knight Riders will again be looking to their openers to provide the impetus for match-winning totals.

"

10  ->  Number of consecutive innings in which Robin Uthappa scored at least 40 runs – longest such streak in T20 history.  #KKR

— KKR Knight Riders (@kkrofficial) June 5, 2014"

The key for KKR will be the level of support that stellar spin bowler Sunil Narine receives, with 2012 Purple Cap winner Morne Morkel and fellow spinner Shakib Al Hasan absent through injury and disciplinary reasons respectively.

Piyush Chawla boasts experience and pedigree with 98 IPL wickets to his name and a respectable economy rate of 7.54, and all eyes will be on the raw but talented Australian seamer Pat Cummins who must step into the void left by Morkel to spearhead the KKR attack.

Chennai Super Kings continued to exhibit remarkable consistency in maintaining their perfect and unique record of qualifying for the knockout stages in every edition of the IPL, finishing third in the table.

They did well to overcome Mumbai Indians, the reigning champions, in the eliminator, before Sehwag's astonishing 122 from just 58 balls powered Kings XI Punjab to an unassailable 222/6 in the second qualifier.

CSK possess enviable firepower in their batting ranks, with opener Dwayne Smith finishing the 2014 IPL as second-highest run-scorer with 566 and hitting the second-highest number of sixes, smiting 34 deliveries over the ropes.

Like KKR, CSK have prolific, powerful batsmen at the top of the order. Smith is partnered by in-form South African Faf du Plessis, and the loss of an early wicket or two is of minor concern with Suresh Raina and Brendon McCullum the next pair in.

Both Raina and McCullum were in the top 10 run-scorers in this year's IPL, contributing 523 and 405 runs respectively, and Raina authored arguably the most jaw-dropping knock of the tournament in making 87 from 25 balls in their failed run chase against KXIP in the second qualifier.

Mohit Sharma was something of a lone ranger in the seam bowling ranks as he excelled to take the Purple Cap with 23 wickets. He was effectively supported up by Indian spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who both featured in the 10 leading wicket-takers list with 35 scalps between them.

The paucity of support from their seam bowling ranks was problematic, with Ben Hilfenhaus and Ashish Nehra languishing outside the top 60 bowlers in terms of economy rates with just eight wickets apiece.

Much will depend on the returning Dwayne Bravo, leading wicket-taker in the 2013 edition, and MS Dhoni has welcomed his presence in the CLT20 squad, acknowledging how his injury in the IPL "really affected the strength, combination and stability of the side," as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

"

Bravo is BACK... pic.twitter.com/Rj365ykCtC @Newbigdog #whistlesareback

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 14, 2014"

In the two games between the sides in the 2014 IPL, it was honours even. CSK won the first encounter convincingly with Jadeja applying the squeeze effectively with 4/12, the best figures returned in the whole tournament, as KKR fell 34 runs short of their target in a rain-affected encounter in Ranchi.

KKR returned the favour as they cantered to a target of 155 for the loss of two wickets with 2 overs to spare at Eden Gardens. Uthappa made 67 from 39 balls and Shakib saw them home with a brisk 46 not out from just 21 deliveries.

Both sides have the players at their disposal to emerge victorious in what should be an evenly matched encounter, but with Bravo bolstering the Super Kings batting and bowling ranks and the Knight Riders missing Morkel and Shakib, CSK may just edge this one to remind KKR what defeat feels like.

Key players

Kolkata Knight Riders

In Sunil Narine, KKR have as good a guarantee that there is of wickets combined with control. Narine has the best economy rate in IPL history, going at just 5.77 per over across three seasons.

As well as putting the brakes on with his off-breaks, Narine's 67 wickets at an average of 16.13 have helped him finish second in the race for the Purple Cap twice in three seasons, both in 2012 and in the most recent edition earlier this year.

With KKR lacking the incision of Morkel and the guile of Shakib, Narine's ability to take wickets at key intervals and simultaneously slow down the run-rate will be at the heart of KKR's efforts to make it past the CLT20 group stage for the first time on their fourth attempt.

Chennai Super Kings

CSK have a host of big-name players including home favourites MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina while Dwayne Smith was their outstanding performer in the last IPL, but the form of Faf du Plessis in the recent ODI Tri-series with Australia and Zimbabwe suggests he could well be the player to watch in the forthcoming tournament.

He made a scarcely credible 464 runs in five innings, detailed on ESPNcricinfo, with three centuries to go with his 96 runs compiled in the final. Motoring along at a strike-rate of 98.51 and blasting 44 boundaries including 12 maximums, he should not struggle to convert this form to the shorter format. With confidence at an all-time high, he could eclipse even his highly regarded team-mates in the CLT20.

Squads

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir (capt), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa (wkt), Piyush Chawla, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Manvinder Bisla, Patrick Cummins, Andre Russell

Chennai Super Kings

MS Dhoni (capt, wkt), Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, R. Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Pawan Negi, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, John Hastings, Brendon McCullum, Samuel Badree, Faf Du Plessis

All statistics taken from IPLT20.com unless otherwise stated