New Delhi: Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, with their rich experience of playing in high-pressure matches, will begin the competition as pre-tournament favourites as the tournament proper of Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) gets underway in Hyderabad with a Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders match on wednesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will enter the competition with the added advantage of playing in home conditions with a settled unit of players whose ability on Indian grounds is well established.
The ten-team event that begins at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad will also be played at two other venues -- Mohali and Bangalore. The tournament will also have two teams Northern Knights and Lahore Lions from the qualifiers. While another IPL team Mumbai Indians are out from the tournament after their defeat by Northern Knights.
Other teams in the fray are Dolphins, Perth Scorchers in Pool A while Cape Cobras, Hobart Hurricanes and Barbados Tridents are on the other pool with KXIP.
