Indian Premier League 2013 champions Mumbai Indians take on third-place finishers Rajasthan Royals in the opening match of the $6 million Champions League T20 2013 on September 21 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, home of the Royals.
According to the tournament schedule released on Tuesday, a semi-final and the final will be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla here in New Delhi on October 5 and 6, with the other semi-final at Jaipur on October 4. The Kotla hosted the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator matches of IPL 2013.
The opening group stage game will be followed by a double-header at Ranchi’s JSCA International Stadium on Sunday, September 22, the first game between the Brisbane Heat, winners of Australia’s T20 Big Bash League and West Indies domestic T20 champions Trinidad and Tobago at 4 pm.
Former CLT20 winners and 2013 IPL runners-up Chennai Super Kings then take on the Titans, South Africa’s domestic T20 runners-up, at 8 pm.
Delhi, Jaipur and Ranchi apart, CLT20 2013 matches will be played at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad , which was one of the venues in the 2009 and 2011 editions of the competition.
The qualifying stage of the tournament will be played from September 17 to 20 at Hyderabad.
The tournament will follow a format similar to the two previous editions, with a group stage preceded by the qualifiers. It involves a total of 29 matches, the qualifiers featuring four teams — Otago Volts (New Zealand’s HRV Cup champions), Sunrisers Hyderabad (the fourth-ranked team in IPL 2013), the winners of Sri Lanka’s domestic T20 competition, and the Faisalabad Wolves (Pakistan’s domestic T20 champions).
The top two enter the group stage of the tournament proper with either Otago or the Sri Lankan side going into Group A, and Sunrisers or Faislabad entering Group B.
If Otago and the Lankan qualifiers both make it to the group stage, then Otago enter Group A, and the latter go into Group B. Conversely if the Wolves and Sunrisers make it to the group stage, the former enters Group B, and the latter Group A.
The group stage will feature 10 teams, Group A comprising of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Highveld Lions (winners of SA’s domestic T20 competition), Perth Scorchers ( T20 Big Bash runner-up), and a qualifier. Group B will comprise of Brisbane Heat, Trinidad & Tobago, Chennai Super Kings, the Titans and a qualifier.