The Kolkata Knight Riders vs the Chennai Super Kings always promises to be a humdinger and what better way to start of the Champions League T20 2014 than with a match between the two IPL behemoths at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Match Highlights HERE
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Match 1 of the CLT20 2014 main draw is scheduled for an 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 (in Hindi) and Star Sports HD1. The match can also be watched via live streaming online HERE. Catch the action in the UK and Europe on Eurosport, while viewers can also watch online through a live stream HERE.
Viewers in the US can catch all the action on ESPN, with the option available for live streaming HERE. Canada viewers will be able to view the game on Sportsnet or live online HERE. Middle East and North Africa viewers go HERE to watch the match online, while the match can be live streamed in South Africa and Sub Saharan HERE. Rest of the world viewers can catch all the math action via online live streaming HERE.
KKR will be riding a way of ecstasy following their remarkable IPL 2014 victory, where they came from the dead to go on an unbelievable run, before holding their nerve in the final against the Kings XI Punjab.
Gautam Gambhir's men now have a couple of IPL titles to their name, but not a single CLT20 crown, with the team from Kolkata even failing to reach the knockout stages on the two previous occasions they have qualified for this tournament.
KKR will be determined to put that right, and an opening win against CSK will be the perfect way to start.
CSK, though, are the real heavyweights of T20 franchise cricket – multiple times IPL winners, serial playoff entrants and a team which always find themselves playing in the CLT20.
Having won the title in 2010, CSK have not quite been able to emulate that performance in this tournament and they will want to make CLT20 2014 a tournament to remember.
In MS Dhoni they have perhaps the best captain in limited-overs cricket, with the skipper happy to see a familiar face, who missed pretty much the entire IPL 2014, back in the lineup.
"We missed Dwayne Bravo during the IPL," said Dhoni. "He got injured. That really affected the strength, combination and stability of the side. It is good to have him back."
CSK are always a formidable side, littered with global stars, but their real strength lies in their Indian players, with the likes of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin all keen to impress after an iffy England tour.
That long England tour will still be felt by many of the Indian players, with the squad members given very little time to recover from the gruelling trip.
"We don't get 10 days before the start of the tournament," added Dhoni. "It is usually pretty fast. Especially the fact, most of the Indian cricketers, they are part of the ODI squad and they are coming from England, which means [they] will be arriving here late.
"In my case, I just came here [Hyderabad]. So, you don't get the same amount of time with the team. As I said, it has its own challenge. Still it is good.
"We get enough time to get together. The two months of IPL, the time, we spend that really helps us. It becomes like a refresher course, where you get together and start getting your acts together."
KKR will still be riding high from their IPL victory, and if the likes of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey continue to strike form, they will be a force to reckon with.
CSK are notoriously slow starters, but such is the nature of this tournament that you just don't have enough time to get into your stride – form needs to be found immediately, and Dhoni and co. will certainly hope it begins with a win over KKR.
