Kings XI vs. Chennai: CLT20 Semi-Final Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

Kings XI are unbeaten in the Champions League T20 as they head into the semi-final against the Chennai Super Kings.

Venue:  Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

Dates: Thursday, October 2

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: The good news from AccuWeather.com is that the weather should be clear. Thunderstorms have had their say in some games, but there shouldn't be any such troubles for this fixture.

Overview 

If this feels like a repeat of an Indian Premier League showdown from earlier in the year, that's because it is. In this year's edition of the IPL, Kings XI and Chennai Super Kings squared off in the qualifier, with Kings XI winning by 24 runs.

They would eventually lose in the final and after being the bridesmaids for so long, this is their chance to rectify that. Punjab have had a good tournament, while Chennai have stuttered somewhat. Punjab's players have better averages, and they have been more consistent all-round.

But, as a wise person will tell you, that hardly matters in T20s, especially when it comes to knockout games. Still, Kings XI can take heart from just how good their chasing record has been throughout this year's tournament. 

For Chennai, this is also a chance to soothe some of the disappointment of always getting so close. South African Faf du Plessis made it quite clear that while it's great that the team keeps on getting to these big games, lifting a trophy is what makes the difference. 

Picking a winner is nearly impossible. Both teams have good players, and both teams have consistently disappointed in the big games. If the weather stays away, it could be a match to remember.

Key players

Chennai

Suresh Raina has led the way with the bat for CSK this year. He has 119 runs at an average of 39.66. As the only player in the CSK side to accumulate more than 100 runs, he'll be expected to play the anchor role and set the platform. Just two players have scored half-centuries for CSK, and Raina is one of them. They will need a big innings from him in order to be competitive.

Kings XI

David Miller always seems to perform when he puts on the Kings XI kit. He's not scored a 50 this tournament, but his lower-order hitting has been impressive. If Kings XI find themselves struggling towards the latter parts of their innings, Miller will have to step up.

Squads

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper) Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ishwar Pandey, Pawan Negi, John Hastings, Samuel Badree, Mithun Manhas.  

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (C), Thisara Perera, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Akshar Patel, Karanveer Singh, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Anureet Singh, Parvinder Awana, Shivam Sharma