Champions League T20: The International Melting Pot of Some Serious Fun

The Champions League T20 is like the club World Cup of the shortest format of the game. Like the Indian Premier League, the tournament has come to roost and it finds favour with almost every single international cricketer who loves some serious fun. India remain the hot destination as franchises are good pay masters and a good showing can secure a contract for the lucrative IPL.

Call it IPL loyalty, top stars prefer to play for their Indian franchises. Kiwi all-rounder Corey Anderson, West Indian Kieron Pollard and Lankan Lasith Malinga have chosen Mumbai Indians over Northern Knights, Barbados Tridents and Southern Express, respectively; Australian T20 captain George Bailey and South African David Miller chose Kings XI Punjab over Hobart Hurricanes and Dolphins; Aussie pacer Pat Cummins and veteran Protea all-rounder Jacques Kallis will play for Kolkata Knight Riders and not Perth Scorchers and Cape Cobras. West Indian Dwayne Smith will turn out for Chennai Super Kings and not Barbados Tridents.

In spite of Indian franchises having an advantage in terms of star value, international teams have dominated as well. The fact that the duration of the game is short and it needs one or two sparkling performances to turn the game on its head, Australian teams have done well in this tournament. In five finals, New South Wales Blues won the inaugural edition in 2009 while Sydney Sixers were the champions in 2012 in Johannesburg. The Champions League T20 was not played in 2008 due to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Mumbai Indians are the defending champions. They won the Champions League T20 in 2011 as well. Former IPL champions Chennai Super Kings won the second edition in 2010 that was played in South Africa. The 2014 edition will be played in India. The qualifying stage for the tournament will be held from September 13 to 16, while the main leg will be between September 17 and October 4, in Raipur, Mohali, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Two teams qualify for the main draw.

This year, Mumbai Indians will play the qualifiers while Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Chennai will start in the main draw by virtue of finishing 1, 2 and 3 in IPL 2014. Hobart Hurricanes, Cape Cobras, Dolphins, Perth Scorchers, Barbados Tridents are the other direct qualifiers. Pakistani team Lahore Lions will compete in the qualifiers.

Here's a season summary:

2009: The final was played at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium in Hyderabad. New South Wales Blues (159/9) defeated Trinidad and Tobago (118) by 41 runs. Brett Lee starred with the bat and ball, scoring 48 off 31 balls (1 x 4, 5 x 6s) and taking 2 for 32. Lee ended up as Man of the Final and also the Man of the Series. A batting collapse put the West Indians in a hole. Kieron Pollard top scored with a 15-ball 26 but it was not enough.

2010: The tournament moved to South Africa. Chennai Super Kings defeated Warriors in the final at Wanderers, Johannesburg. It was a low-scoring final again. Chennai, bolstered by Muralitharan (3/16) and Ravichandran Ashwin's (2/16) double-spin attack, restricted Warriors to 128 for 7. Michael Hussey (51) and Murali Vijay (58) put on 103 for the opening wicket to help Chennai cruise to an eight-wicket win. Vijay was man of the final while Ashwin was player of the series.

2011: It was an all-Indian final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bat. A few batsmen got starts but James Franklin's 41 and Suryakumar Yadav's 17-ball 24 cameo helped Mumbai score 139 all out. The Mumbai bowlers defended their low total. The pace-spin duo of Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh was too hot for RCB. Dilshan's 27 was the lone bright spot as Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli failed to fire. Man of the Series Malinga's 2/23 and Man of the Final Harbhajan's 3/20 gave Mumbai a deserving victory.

2012: The tournament moved to South Africa again. The Indian teams failed to make the title round. Sydney Sixers and Highveld Lions contested a low-scoring final at the Wanderers. It was a one-sided final with the Australians winning by 10 wickets and 45 balls remaining. Sydney opted to bowl after winning the toss. Kiwi off-spinner Nathan McCullum (3/24) opened the bowling for Sydney, but it was Josh Hazelwood (3/22) who dealt some early blows as Lions lost four wickets with just nine runs on the board. Jean Symes scored a 46-ball 51 for Lions as the South Africans were all out for 121. Man of the Final Michael Lumb struck a 42-ball 82 and Brad Haddin scored 37 as Sydney won with a lot to spare. Sydney Sixers pacer Mitchell Starc was the Player of the Series.

2013: The final was played at the Kotla in New Delhi. The crowd got what they wanted - two Indian teams face-to-face. Mumbai Indians were facing Rajasthan Royals but the final was 'historic' because two of the greatest cricketers ever - Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - were crossing swords for one last time in a competitive game. Rajasthan decided to field after winning the toss. Tendulkar opened the Mumbai innings with Dwayne Smith. Tendulkar was bowled by Shane Watson for 15. Smith's 44 and crucial contributions from Rayudu (29), Rohit Sharma (33) and Glenn Maxwell (37) helped Mumbai Indians post a challenging 202 for 6 in 20 overs. Rajasthan replied with equal aggression. Ajinkya Rahane (65) and Sanju Samson (60) put on 109 for the second wicket and the fans were getting their money's worth. But Harbhajan Singh (4/32) and Pollard (3/31) triggered a massive Rajasthan collapse as Dravid's team crashed from 117 for 2 in the 12th over to 169 all out in 18.5 overs. Dravid, the team's mentor, scored 1. Mumbai won by 33 runs. Harbhajan was Man of the Match while Smith was Man of the Series.