Following a morale-boosting victory against Mumbai Indians in their opening encounter, Rajasthan Royals will look to double their joy when they take on Highveld Lions in a group A league match of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Jaipur on Wednesday.
The CLT20, the grand finale of Twenty20 cricket between the world's champion teams, will start on Friday 10 September with a Group B clash between Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians and Alviro Petersen's Highveld Lions at Wanderers.
In a huge upset early on Highveld Lions beat favourites Mumbai Indians by nine runs in the opening (Group B) match of the Champions League played at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.
South African team Highveld Lions had threatened Champions League officials with legal action after they made a last-minute change to the playing conditions, which fuelled suspicions that the tournament was favouring Indian teams.
Shane Watson's dream run in shortest format continued as the all-rounder smashed a quickfire 47 after claiming two wickets as Sydney Sixers beat Highveld Lions by five wickets as they inch closer to semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 in Cape Town.
Sydney Sixers produced an all-round clinical display to clinch the Champions League Twenty20 title with a dominating 10-wicket victory over Highveld Lions in a lop-sided summit clash in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Kevin Pietersen waged a lone battle but Delhi Daredevils simply lacked the firepower as they lost to Highveld Lions by 22 runs in the first semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 in Durban on Thursday.
He was gunning for Sachin Tendulkar's wicket ever since Highveld Lions were drawn to play Mumbai Indians in the Champions League Twenty20 and so thrilled was little-known spinner Aaron Phangiso after getting the prized scalp that he remained up all night to celebrate the achievement.
Star of Highveld Lions' Champions League Twenty20 semi-final win over Delhi Daredevils, pacer Chris Morris said picking up two wickets at an economy rate of just 1.75 in a T20 game was 'unbelievable'.
Ethan O'Reilly shone with the ball, while skipper Alviro Petersen and Richard Cameron scored quickfire unbeaten half-centuries to guide Highveld Lions to a nine-wicket victory over Guyana in a Group B Champions League Twenty20 match in Johannesburg on Sunday.
South Africa's Highveld Lions will look to inch closer to a semifinal berth when they take on struggling and injury-hit English side Yorkshire in a group B encounter of the Champions League Twenty20 in Johannesburg.
Delhi Daredevils' batting might would be put through a stern test by the consistent bowling attack of Highveld Lions when the two sides clash in the first semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 in Durban on Thursday.
It will be a battle of the elites when Sydney Sixers take on Highveld Lions in a Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday to maintain their supremacy at the points table.
Captain Michael Klinger smashed a blistering 78 as he led South Australia Redbacks to an 11-run victory over giant-killers Highveld Lions in a Champions League Twenty20 match in Centurion on Sunday.
All eyes will be on Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Harbhajan Singh as defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Highveld Lions in their opening Champions League Twenty20 in Johannesburg on Sunday.
It may have got tricky for Mumbai Indians after one defeat and a washout, but skipper Rohit Sharma is still very optimistic about his side's prospects in the Champions League Twenty20.
Both the matches on Monday's programme in the Champions League T20 tournament in Ahmedabad were washed out.
Invincible so far in the competition, Sydney Sixers are firm favourites for the title but South Africa's enterprising Highveld Lions would look to upset the Australian powerhouse's applecart when the two sides clash in the Champions League Twenty20 final in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Images from the Champions League T20 match between Highveld Lions and Otago Volts in Jaipur, on Sunday.
Delhi Daredevils captain Ross Taylor blamed their semi-final defeat against Highveld Lions to poor fielding, which cost them 25 extra runs.
The downpour in Gujarat has forced the BCCI to shift the Champions League Twenty20 Group A match between Mumbai Indians and the Highveld Lions from Ahmedabad to Jaipur.
The complete fixtures of Champions League T20, which starts in Jaipur on September 21.
The complete fixtures of Champions League T20, which starts in Jaipur on September 21.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid couldn't hide his glee. After all the Rajasthan Royals' 30-run win over Highveld Lions in the Champions League T20 in Jaipur on Wednesday was scripted by an inspirational teammate.
In what was a clinical performance by Sydney Sixers, the Aus club mauled the Highveld Lions by 10 wickets to clinch the Champions League title and skipper Brad Haddin attributed the victory to their "outstanding" preparation for the final.
Chennai Super Kings' chances of making it to the semi-finals in the Champions League Twenty20 suffered a blow as they slumped to their second consecutive defeat in the tournament with a six-wicket loss at the hands of Highveld Lions.
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed loss of momentum due to free hits conceded as one of the reasons for his side's defeat at the hands of Highveld Lions in Champions League Twenty20 in Cape Town on Tuesday.
After a stunning loss in the tournament-opener, Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians would be determined to post a win when they take on South Australia in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B match in Durban, on Tuesday.
The shocking defeat at the hands of local side Highveld Lions in the Champions League Twenty20 opener notwithstanding, Mumbai Indians batsman JP Duminy said the IPL side has the firepower to bounce back in the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals will look to continue their winning streak and inch closer to a place in the semifinal when they take on lowly Perth Scorchers in a Group 'A' match of the Champions league Twenty20 in Jaipur on Sunday.
Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe, whose superb effort of four for 15 was instrumental in Rajasthan Royals' 30-run win over Highveld Lions, said he used variations and concentrated on bowling wicket to wicket.
The IPL derby between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings might have been reduced to a dead-rubber even before its start but both the teams were desperate to win the match for pride, said Mumbai stumper Dinesh Karthik.
Mumbai Indians found themselves on the brink of exit from the Champions League Twenty20 after rain washed out their Group B match against Yorkshire in Cape Town.
Back-to-back wins over two star-studded Indian Premier League teams -- Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings -- have made the Highveld Lions a force to reckon with in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament, feels senior batsman Neil McKenzie.
A narrow 14-run defeat was not the ideal start for the former champions Chennai Super Kings, and they will look to make amends in their bowling when they taken on the impressive Highveld Lions on Tuesday.
'I'd always played cricket in the backyard with friends and parents, but wouldn't say I ever had the desire to be a professional.'
The glitzy Champions League Twenty20 gets underway on Friday under the watchful eyes of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and the shadow of the spot-fixing scandal that has shaken the core of the game.
Sydney Sixers kept their cool to edge past Nashua Titans by two wickets in a nerve-wracking second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 in Centurion.
Livid after Delhi Daredevils went down meekly to Highveld Lions in the Champions League Twenty20 semi-final, skipper Mahela Jayawardene said his team did not have the "right attitude" and was bogged down by nerves and pressure.
Already out of the semi-final race, IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings would look to redeem some pride and end their campaign on a high when they take on a less-formidable Yorkshire in their final Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Durban on Monday.