Legends of Sports

The Champions League Twenty20 will kick off with the qualifying game between Ruhunu Eleven and Trinidad and Tobago here on Monday. The other teams Kolkata Knight Riders, Auckland Aces, Leicestershire and Somerset contest for three vacant spots in the main event of the competition, which will begin from September 23.

Match 1 - Ruhunu Eleven vs Trinidad and Tobago

Ruhunu Eleven: Ruhunu will bank heavily on their dominant batting department led by hard-hitting 42-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, who is taking part in the competition as the oldest player."Our strong point is batting. We are lucky to have Jayasuriya in our side. He is such a great player and has so much experience. He will surely provide us with some ideas," Udawatta said ahead of his team's opening match.

Trinidad and Tobago: "If we can go one step further to what we did in 2009, it would be a great feeling. It is significant for us to recognise that and try to give our best," T&T captain Darren Ganga said. With the likes of skipper Ganga, his brother Sherwin Ganga, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons up in their armoury, the Trinidad and Tobago outfit has a good combination of youth and experience.

Match 2 - Auckland Aces vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders: In the run-up to the event, the Knight Riders received a huge setback in the form of skipper Gautam Gambhir, who has been ruled out of the qualifiers due to injury. But with the likes of Jacques Kallis who has been named captain and Brett Lee, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary in the team, KKR hold an edge over the Aces.

Auckland Aces: Auckland, New Zealand's champions have reached the finals of the domestic Twenty20 contest in four seasons out of six. Batsmen Jimmy Adams, Colin Munro, Lou Vincent and Colin de Grandhomme were solid in this year's HRV Cup campaign. In Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey and Andre Adams the team enjoys vast international experience on the pace front.

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