Thread: Champions League final to be played in Hyderabad

http://www.cricinfo.com/t20champions...ry/416922.html

Champions League final to be played in Hyderabad

Cricinfo staff

July 30, 2009

The opening game of the Champions Twenty20 League, between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Cape Cobras, will be held in Bangalore while the final will be played in Hyderabad on October 23.

The 12 teams will be divided into four groups of three each with IPL runners-up Bangalore grouped with Cape Cobras and Otago, while IPL champions Deccan Chargers are in a pool with Stanford 20/20 winners Trinidad and Tobago and the runners-up of England's Twenty20 Cup.

Delhi Daredevils will be grouped with Victoria, the runners-up in the Australian domestic competition, and the Sri Lanka champions Wayamba. The other group comprises the Australian title-holders New South Wales, South Africa's Eagles and the yet-to-be-decided winner of England's Twenty20 Cup.

The top two teams will qualify for the second round where two groups of four each will compete in a round-robin league. The top four teams will make it to the semi-finals, which will be played in New Delhi, on October 21, and Hyderabad, on October 22. A total of 23 matches will be played over 16 days in these three venues.

Telecom service providers Airtel have signed up for the tournament as title sponsors for five years starting 2009. According to industry sources the deal is worth Rs200 crore (US$ 41 million approx).