European Cricket Network live broadcasts five exciting T10 matches on Day 1 of the FanCode ECS Spain, Barcelona starting Monday 8 February. Tune into the live action from 0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST from the Montjuïc Olympic Ground in Barcelona, Spain.
The opening day of the European Cricket Series in 2021 sees five Group A matchups in what promises to be a fascinating first chapter of the much-anticipated five week FanCode ECS Spain Barcelona.
Group A
CAT Catalunya Tigers
GRA Gracia
XI-S XI Stars
MIB Men in Blue
FTH Fateh
BEN Bengali
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MATCH 1 (ECS21.001)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB) v BENGALI (BEN)
0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST
MIB Last Five Matches: LLWLL (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 117)
BEN Last Five Matches: LLLLW (Avg Score For 105, Avg Score Against 113)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Sanjeev Tiwari
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Shubhdeep Deb, Rinku Sihol, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Projected Opening Bowlers: Abhishek Borikar, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Spin Options: Atul Kesar, Harihar Sridhar
MEN IN BLUE Key Players:
Shankar Kaligatla finished leading run-scorer (122) and wicket-taker (7) for MIB on their previous ECS appearance.
Shubhdeep Deb, a prolific hard-hitting batsman, holds the record of smashing the most sixes (9) for his side in ECS.
Prasanna Jathan ended third-highest run-scorer for MIB in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Abhishek Borikar picked up 6 wickets at an economy of 9.36 runs per over in October.
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaj Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaj Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Injamul Amin, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Nadim Hussain, Mahbubul Alam
BENGALI Key Players:
Riaj Howladar bagged 12 wickets in ECS Barcelona 2020 including match winning figures of 5-12.
Omar Ali finished leading run-scorer for BEN amassing 185 runs at a strike rate of 187 including 16 long sixes.
Shafiqur Rahman is the standout wicketkeeper-batsman in the Bengali line-up.
Nadim Hussain, the young leggie boasts a lot of experience to the Bengali side having already played international cricket for Spain and at ECL19 for Catalunya CC.
These two sides meet for the first time on the European Cricket stage. Having won just a solitary game in their last five ECS appearances, each side would like to start on a positive note.
Match Prediction: BENGALI (BEN) to edge a close contest.
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MATCH 2 (ECS21.002)
BENGALI (BEN) v CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT)
0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST
BEN Last Five Matches: LLLLW (Avg Score For 105, Avg Score Against 113)
CAT Last Five Matches: WWWWL (Avg Score For 127, Avg Score Against 115)
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaj Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaj Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Injamul Amin, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Nadim Hussain
BENGALI Key Players:
Riaj Howladar bagged 12 wickets in ECS Barcelona 2020 including match winning figures of 5-12.
Omar Ali finished leading run-scorer for BCC amassing 185 runs at a strike rate of 187 including 16 long sixes.
Shafiqur Rahman is the standout wicketkeeper-batsman in the Bengali line-up.
Nadim Hussain, the young leggie boasts a lot of experience to the Bengali side having already played international cricket for Spain and at ECL19 for Catalunya CC.
CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT)
Captain: Ghulam Sarwar
Wicketkeeper: Shahzaib Akram
Projected Top Four: Kamran Nawaz Sahi, Yasir Ali, Muhammad Armghan Khan, Mustansar Iqbal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Kashif, Kamran Nawaz Sahi
Spin Options: Razaqat Ali, Ghulam Sarwar
CATALUNYA TIGERS Key Players:
Yasir Ali mustered 355 runs at a staggering strike rate of 210 at ECS Barcelona November 2020.
Syed Sherazi ended leading wicket-taker at the European Cricket League in 2019 with nine scalps to his name for Catalunya CC. The European Cricket League (ECL) is “The Champions League of European Cricket.”
Muhammad Armghan Khan, popularly known as “The Big MAK”, is a hard hitting top order batsman and an equally furious bowler. On loan from Catalunya CC, he captained the Spanish representatives at ECL19.
Ghulam Sarwar is arguably the most experienced bowler in the tournament and is highly deceptive with his off-spin.
In their second match of the day, Bengali will take on one of the tournament favourites, Catalunya Tigers. With some experienced talent in their ranks, CAT are expected to start their campaign with a win.
Last time they met: CAT 129 def BEN 69 (12 Oct 2020)
Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to win comfortably.
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MATCH 3 (ECS21.003)
FATEH (FTH) v MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST
FTH Last Five Matches: LLLLL (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 141)
MIB Last Five Matches: LLWLL (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 117)
FATEH (FTH)
Captain: Manjinder Singh
Wicketkeeper: Lakhvir Singh
Projected Top Four: Mirza Hamza Baig, Manjinder Singh, Happy Singh, Rajiv Singh
Projected Opening Bowlers: Randip Singh, Naghman Hussain
Spin Options: Rajiv Singh
FATEH Key Players:
Happy Singh is the leading run-scorer for Fateh in ECS with 259 runs to his name.
Manjinder Singh bagged 7 wickets and played a couple of useful cameos in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Gurvinder Singh racked up 86 runs in just two games, including eight towering sixes.
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Sanjeev Tiwari
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Shubhdeep Deb, Rinku Sihol, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Projected Opening Bowlers: Abhishek Borikar, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Spin Options: Atul Kesar, Harihar Sridhar
MEN IN BLUE Key Players:
Shankar Kaligatla finished leading run-scorer (122) and wicket-taker (7) for MIB the last time they featured in ECS.
Shubhdeep Deb, a prolific hard-hitting batsman, holds the record of smashing the most sixes (9) for his side in ECS.
Prasanna Jathan ended third-highest run-scorer for MIB in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Abhishek Borikar picked up 6 wickets at an economy of 9.36 runs per over in October.
In their opening game of the tournament, Fateh will lock horns with Men In Blue. Fateh would want to kick start the tournament with a win to snap an eight-match losing streak. On previous form though, their chances seem slim.
Match Prediction: MEN IN BLUE (MIB) to win a close contest.
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MATCH 4 (ECS21.004)
CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) v FATEH (FTH)
1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST
CAT Last Five Matches: WWWWL (Avg Score For 127, Avg Score Against 115)
FTH Last Five Matches: LLLLL (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 141)
CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT)
Captain: Ghulam Sarwar
Wicketkeeper: Shahzaib Akram
Projected Top Four: Kamran Nawaz Sahi, Yasir Ali, Muhammad Armghan Khan, Mustansar Iqbal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Kashif, Kamran Nawaz Sahi
Spin Options: Razaqat Ali, Ghulam Sarwar
CATALUNYA TIGERS Key Players:
Yasir Ali mustered 355 runs at a staggering strike rate of 210 at ECS Barcelona November 2020.
Syed Sherazi was the leading wicket-taker at ECL19 with 9 scalps to his name.
Muhammad Armghan Khan, popularly known as “The Big MAK”, is a hard hitting top order batsman and an equally furious bowler.
Ghulam Sarwar is probably the most experienced bowler in the tournament and is highly deceptive with his off-spin.
FATEH (FTH)
Captain: Manjinder Singh
Wicketkeeper: Lakhvir Singh
Projected Top Four: Mirza Hamza Baig, Manjinder Singh, Happy Singh, Rajiv Singh
Projected Opening Bowlers: Randip Singh, Naghman Hussain
Spin Options: Rajiv Singh
FATEH Key Players:
Happy Singh is the leading run-scorer for Fateh in ECS with 259 runs to his name.
Manjinder Singh bagged 7 wickets and played a couple of cameos in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Gurvinder Singh scored 86 runs in just two games which included eight towering sixes, the most by any Fateh batsman.
Catalunya Tigers and Fateh will both be playing their second game of the day. Both teams will be familiar with the conditions and look to outsmart the opposition through strategic changes.
Last time they met: CAT 119(8.5) def BEN 118 (19 Nov 2020)
Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to win comfortably.
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MATCH 5 (ECS21.005)
GRACIA (GRA) v XI STARS (XI-S)
1530 GMT | 1630 CET | 2100 IST
GRA Last Five Matches: LLWWL (Avg Score For 108, Avg Score Against 114)
XI-S Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
GRACIA (GRA)
Captain: Kuldeep Lal
Wicketkeeper: Mayank Dayal
Projected Top Four: Kuldeep Lal, Mukhtiar Singh, Gurwinder Bajwa, Kulwant Thakur
Projected Opening Bowlers: Trilochan Singh, Harkamal Singh
Spin Options: Harpreet Sodhi, Abhishek Khullar
GRACIA Key Players:
Kuldeep Lal is the most consistent player in ECS. He has scored over 150 runs in each of the tournaments he has played.
Mukhtiar Singh, the Spanish International, hammered 93 runs at a strike rate of 207 and grabbed 6 wickets at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Trilochan Singh is the leading wicket taker for Gracia in ECS with 8 scalps from 7 matches.
XI STARS (XI-S)
Captain: Asif Mehmood
Wicketkeeper: Amir Hamza
Projected Top Four: Tanveer Shah, Tabish Qahqous, Asif Mehmood, Abubakar Hussain
Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Riaz, Muneeb Ishfaq
Spin Options: Zubair Ahmed, Tanveer Shah
XI STARS Key Players:
Tanveer Shah is the all-time leading run-scorer for XI-S in the shortest format, amassing 232 runs from 10 matches and can also roll his arm over with his deceptive offies.
Asif Mehmood, the captain will aim to lead by example and score quick runs at the top of the order to get his team off to a flier.
Tabish Qahqous, the big hitting opener is one of the most experienced players in the side. He has scored 238 runs from 15 games across all formats.
Founded in 2019, XI Stars will make their ECS debut against Gracia in the last match of the day. With unknown but talented faces in their ranks, the debutants might surprise their opponents.
Match Prediction: Too close to call
Catch all the action live on the European Cricket Network, available on the FanCode platform in the Indian subcontinent and streamed globally on the ECN - European Cricket Network YouTube channel.
