Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Chennai Super Kings: CLT20 Final, Live Stream, TV Info

Saturday's 2014 Champions League T20 final will be an all-Indian affair as Kolkata Knight Riders take on Chennai Super Kings.

Kolkata, who will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to 15, will face stiff competition from a Chennai side appearing in their eighth tournament final.

Read on for a full preview of what should be a closely contested encounter.

Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Date: Saturday 4 October 2014

Start Time: 2:30 p.m. BST, 7 p.m. Local time

Live on: 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: Hopefully the thunderstorms predicted by Accuweather.com will have disappeared by the time the action gets under way.

Overview

Kolkata's hopes of adding a Champions League title to their recent Indian Premier League triumph were dealt a heavy blow with the news that Sunil Narine will be unable to bowl in the final.

The West Indian spinner fell foul of the umpires in the semi-final win over Hobart, who reported a suspected illegal action, per ESPN Cricinfo (h/t Indian Express). Narine had previously been cited in the final group match against the Dolphins. Champions League organisers confirmed that he has been banned from bowling for the remainder of the tournament.

The absence of the leading wicket-taker in the competition will leave a massive hole for Gautam Gambhir's side to fill. Despite missing their Trinidadian talisman, there are still reasons for the Knight Riders supporters to be optimistic.

Leggie Piyush Chawla and left-arm Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav have impressed throughout the competition and will pose a big threat. Andre Russell is bowling quickly and Yusuf Pathan has been neat and tidy.

The batting looks in good order with six Kolkata batsmen scoring half-centuries during this year's Champions League. Opener Robin Uthappa has been a steady presence and Manish Pandey prolific in the middle-order. Suryakumar Yadav, Ryan ten Doeschate and Andre Russell have kept their heads during tense run chases.

Kolkata received a further boost in the semi-final courtesy of Jacques Kallis. The veteran all-rounder turned back the clock with a man-of-the-match performance.

Even without Narine, the Kolkata line-up looks strong. Perhaps most importantly, the Knight Riders have got into the habit of winning, even when not firing on all cylinders.

"

A happy team @ImRaina @Iammithunmanhas @tommysimsek pic.twitter.com/Eoj64zQLm1

— russell (@russcsk) October 2, 2014"

The Super Kings will be out for revenge after losing their group game against Kolkata. Chennai lost by three wickets in the CLT20 opener but their performances have improved as the tournament has progressed.

Skipper MS Dhoni will have plenty of bowling options at his disposal. Seven bowlers turned their arm over during the rout of the Kings XI in the semi-final with six of them picking up wickets.

Opening bowlers Ashish Nehra and Mohit Sharma have been particularly prolific, snaring 18 victims between them. Chennai's spinners may not have the mystery of their Kolkata counterparts but Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja are cute operators in the shortest form of the game.

Big hitters Dwayne Bravo and Faf Du Plessis found their range in the semi-final and complement a stacked Chennai top-order that also includes Suresh Raina, Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum.

Chennai look to have the edge in the fielding stakes, too, which could prove crucial in a game between two such well-matched teams.

Whether the Super Kings can take advantage of Narine's absence looks like being key to the outcome of the match.

"

First match: #KKRvCSK. Last match: #KKRvCSK. This is gonna be good! #CLT20

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 2, 2014"

Key Players:

Kolkata Knight Riders

Missing Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav will spearhead the Kolkata attack. The 19-year-old may be a novice at this level but with six wickets to his name at an average of 17.66 he's fitted in perfectly.

Another solid start from Robin Uthappa would also go a long way toward yet another successful Knight Riders run-chase.

Chennai Super Kings

With 10 wickets, Ashish Nehra is the leading fast-bowler in this year's CLT20. A repeat of his semi-final heroics and Chennai will be in prime position to claim a second Champions League title.

We've not seen much of MS Dhoni during this competitions but few would bet against him putting in a match-winning performance if the game is on the line.

Squads

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa (wicketkeeper), Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, UmeshYadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate, Pat Cummins, Andre Russell, Manvinder Bisla

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.