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

After coming through the qualifying stages of the Champions League Twenty20, Lahore Lions begin their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

Dates: Sunday, September 21

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

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

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the forecast is not great. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for early evening, but the worst of the weather might just pass by. It's a double header at the ground, though, and this match is the second of two. If there is a delay in the first game, it could impact the match.

Overview

Lahore Lions were impressive during the qualifiers, with just one loss against the Northern Districts. Aizaz Cheema was the most impressive bowler with eight wickets in three games at an average of 9.00. Lahore's batting has lacked consistency, though, Cheema and Asif Raza have been impressive with the ball.

The good news for the Pakistan team is that Kolkata didn't exactly romp to victory in their opening match against Chennai, either. Barring Sunil Narine, their bowlers are there for the taking and their top order collapsed in a heap before the lower order rescued them in their opening fixture.

With such unpredictability on both teams, it should all make for a volatile combination of excitement when the two teams meet on Sunday.

There is also the subtext of this being a mini India vs. Pakistan clash. While the KKR team isn’t packed with Indian players, it’s still a team representative from the country.

Everyone who follows cricket knows just how big this rivalry can get, so the atmosphere should be really special, even if the cricket is somewhat dull.

Key players

Kolkata

Andre Russell was the star of the show for KKR in their opening fixture, hitting 58 off just 25 balls to help them secure victory.

His ability to blitz lower down the order is something that has given him the reputation as one of the most destructive players in world cricket.

While he does need to work on his consistency, KKR will be happy knowing they have a gun player in their arsenal.

Lahore

Raza has the best economy rate out of the Lahore bowlers. He might have only taken two wickets in the two qualifiers, but his economy rate is 5.33. The ability to force pressure is something that will be of great assistance to his bowling partners.

Squads

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir (C), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate, Pat Cummins, Andre Russell and Manvinder Bisla.

Lahore Lions

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