Day 5 PREVIEW: FanCode ECS Spain Barcelona – Matches 21 to 25

Friday at the FanCode ECS Spain Barcelona sees five mouthwatering Group A matchups.

Following four dramatic wins from four, including three consecutive last-ball cliffhangers, Bengali convincingly lead the standings. The chasing pack, including group favourites Catalunya Tigers, have serious work to do to remain in contention as we wrap up Week one in beautiful Barcelona.

Group A

BENBengali (4-0, NRR+0.500)

MIBMen In Blue (2-1, NRR+0.200)

GRAGracia (1-1, NRR+0.750)

FTHFateh (0-2, NRR-1.450)

CATCatalunya Tigers (0-1, NRR-1.200)

XI-SXI Stars (0-2, NRR-1.333)

MATCH 21 (ECS21.021)

XI STARS (XI-S) v CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT)

0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST

XI-S Last Five Matches: NR L L (Avg Score For 77, Avg Score Against 84) 

CAT Last Five Matches: W W L L NR (Avg Score For 117, Avg Score Against 115) 

XI STARS (XI-S)

Captain: Asif Mehmood

Wicketkeeper: Amir Hamza

Projected Top Four: Tanveer Shah, Tabish Qahqous, Amir Hamza, Asif Mehmood

Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Riaz, Zubair Ahmed

Spin Options: Tanveer Shah

XI STARS Key Players:

Tabish Qahqous scored a fighting fifty off just 24 balls against Bengali which nearly saw his team home.

Umar Riaz impressed us all, bowling at different stages of the game yet being equally effective. He grabbed four wickets in two matches.

Hamza Khan bowled miserly, conceding just 19 off his four overs picking up three wickets across two games.

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 smashed 27 runs at a strike rate of 300 which included four HUGE maximos!

Muhammad Armghan Khan, The Big MAK looked solid as always scoring a quickfire 25 including two sixes. 

Saqib Latif scored the most runs (41*) for CAT in their opening game, 28 came in boundaries.

Ghulam Sarwar is arguably the most experienced bowler in the tournament and is highly deceptive with his off-spin. He scalped a wicket in his very first over.

Newcomers XI Stars will take on ECS giants, Catalunya Tigers in the first match of Day 5. Interestingly, both teams are yet to win a match which makes it a crucial game.

Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to win comfortably.

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MATCH 22 (ECS21.022)

XI STARS (XI-S) v FATEH (FTH)

0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST

XI-S Last Five Matches: NR L L (Avg Score For 77, Avg Score Against 84) 

FTH Last Five Matches: NR NR L L (Avg Score For 97, Avg Score Against 123) 

FATEH (FTH)

Captain: Manjinder Singh

Wicketkeeper: Lakhvir Singh

Projected Top Four: Manjinder Singh, Happy Singh, Lakhvir Singh, Kuldeep Singh

Projected Opening Bowlers: Iqbal Wajid, Naghman Hussain

Spin Options: Rajiv Singh

FATEH Key Players:

Iqbal Wajid, medium pacer, picked up two wickets and scored some handy runs in the middle order.

Naghman Hussain looked sharp with the new ball picking up two wickets in the powerplay.

Manjinder Singh, captain, hammered a towering six on the very first ball faced this season. 

XI STARS (XI-S)

Captain: Asif Mehmood

Wicketkeeper: Amir Hamza

Projected Top Four: Tanveer Shah, Tabish Qahqous, Amir Hamza, Asif Mehmood

Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Riaz, Zubair Ahmed

Spin Options: Tanveer Shah

XI STARS Key Players:

Tabish Qahqous scored a fighting fifty off just 24 balls against Bengali which nearly saw his team home.

Umar Riaz impressed us all, bowling at different stages of the game yet being equally effective. He grabbed four wickets in two matches.

Hamza Khan bowled miserly, conceding just 19 off his four overs picking up three wickets across two games.

Playing their second match of the day, XI Stars will be hoping to get their first ECS win against another struggling team. Fateh will be equally eager to finally win a game, having lost 10 in succession on the ECS stage. 

Match Prediction: FATEH (FTH) to edge a tight finish.

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MATCH 23 (ECS21.023)

CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) v GRACIA (GRA)

1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST

CAT Last Five Matches: W W L L NR (Avg Score For 117, Avg Score Against 115) 

GRA Last Five Matches: W L NR L W (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 106) 

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 Kamran, Kamran Nawaz Sahi

Spin Options: Razaqat Ali, Ghulam Sarwar

CATALUNYA TIGERS Key Players:

Yasir Ali smashed 27 runs at a strike rate of 300 which included four HUGE maximos!

Muhammad Armghan Khan, The Big MAK looked solid as always scoring a quickfire 25 including two sixes. 

Saqib Latif scored the most runs (41*) for CAT in their opening game, 28 came in boundaries.

Ghulam Sarwar is arguably the most experienced bowler in the tournament and is highly deceptive with his off-spin. He scalped a wicket in his very first over.

GRACIA (GRA)

Captain: Kuldeep Lal

Wicketkeeper: Mayank Dalal

Projected Top Four: Kuldeep Singh, Mukhtiar Singh, Kulwant Singh, Vicky Sondhi

Projected Opening Bowlers: Trilochan Singh, Harkamal Singh

GRACIA Key Players:

Kuldeep Lal, MVP, mustered 76 runs from two games at a strike rate of 195 and picked up two wickets.

Trilochan Singh picked up four wickets for 10 runs against Fateh in a sensational man of the match performance.

Vicky Sondhi scored a blistering unbeaten 27-ball 42 in the chase against MIB, but fell to the Golden Ball.

After losing the Golden Ball, Gracia came back strongly to win their next game. Both CAT and GRA boast some star talent in their ranks which makes this matchup our main event of the day.

Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to win a last ball thriller.

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MATCH 24 (ECS21.024)

MEN IN BLUE (MIB) v CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT)

1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST

MIB Last Five Matches: L L NR W W (Avg Score For 91, Avg Score Against 111) 

CAT Last Five Matches: W W L L NR (Avg Score For 117, Avg Score Against 115) 

MEN IN BLUE (MIB)

Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari

Wicketkeeper: Sanjeev Tiwari

Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Harpreet Singh, Shubhdeep Deb, Sanjeev Tiwari

Projected Opening Bowlers: Abhishek Borikar, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian

Spin Options: Atul Kesar

MEN IN BLUE Key Players:

Shankar Kaligatla, all rounder, has scored 89 runs including a fifty and has two wickets too.

Abhishek Borikar, star bowler who delivered the Golden Ball against Gracia. Has three wickets to his name at an economy rate of under six.

Atul Kesar, spinner, very effective in the middle overs, picked up three wickets with a best of 2-6.

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 Kamran, Kamran Nawaz Sahi

Spin Options: Razaqat Ali, Ghulam Sarwar

CATALUNYA TIGERS Key Players:

Yasir Ali smashed 27 runs at a strike rate of 300 which included four HUGE maximos!

Muhammad Armghan Khan, The Big MAK looked solid as always scoring a quickfire 25 including two sixes. 

Saqib Latif scored the most runs (41*) for CAT in their opening game, 28 came in boundaries.

Ghulam Sarwar is arguably the most experienced bowler in the tournament and is highly deceptive with his off-spin. He scalped a wicket in his very first over.

Catalunya Tigers will lock horns with Men In Blue in their third match of Day 5. Can MIB take advantage of a tired and aching CAT side?

Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to win their third straight match!

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MATCH 25 (ECS21.025)

BENGALI (BEN) v GRACIA (GRA)

1530 GMT | 1630 CET | 2100 IST

BEN Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 106, Avg Score Against 90) 

GRA Last Five Matches: W L NR L W (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 106) 

BENGALI (BEN)

Captain: Riaj Howladar

Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman

Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaj Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman

Projected Opening Bowlers: Riaj Howladar, Omar Ali

Spin Options: Hasan Bin Hakim

BENGALI Key Players:

Shafiqur Rahman, wicketkeeper batsman, very consistent, has racked up 123 runs at a strike rate of 176.

Tamjid Bepari, averages 97, doesn't seem to get out. Scored an unbeaten 42 in the last game.

Mosaraf Hussain, very accurate, line and length, scalped three top-order wickets against Fateh.

Riaj Howladar, captain, all-rounder, mustered 78 runs and picked up three wickets from four games.

GRACIA (GRA)

Captain: Kuldeep Lal

Wicketkeeper: Mayank Dalal

Projected Top Four: Kuldeep Singh, Mukhtiar Singh, Kulwant Singh, Vicky Sondhi

Projected Opening Bowlers: Trilochan Singh, Harkamal Singh

GRACIA Key Players:

Kuldeep Lal, MVP, mustered 76 runs from two games at a strike rate of 195 and picked up two wickets.

Trilochan Singh picked up four wickets for 10 runs against Fateh in a sensational man of the match performance.

Vicky Sondhi scored a blistering unbeaten 27-ball 42 in the chase against MIB, but fell to the Golden Ball.

Having won four straight games this season, Bengali have surprised everyone including Mr Maximo. Will BEN make it five on the trot or can Gracia do the business? 

Match Prediction: GRACIA (GRA) to halt BENGALI’s dream run.

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.