Day 3 PREVIEW: FanCode ECS Sweden Stockholm – Matches 9 to 12
FanCode ECS Sweden Stockholm provides an opportunity for ten teams to showcase their skills, contesting 48 games over 12 days. Every game will be live streamed worldwide on the European Cricket Network and on FanCode - a multi-sport aggregator platform, from the house of Dream Sports for the Indian Sub-Continent.
European Cricket Network live broadcasts four T10 matches on Day 3 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Sweden, Stockholm on Wednesday 21 July.
Reigning champions PF have looked invincible and are well in charge of Group A with the rest playing catch up already.
Group A
PF Pakistanska Forening (4-0, NRR+3.622)
BOT Botkyrka (2-1, NRR-0.133)
STO Stockholm (1-3, NRR-0.513)
FOR Forenom Royals (1-2, NRR-2.467)
UME Umea (0-2, NRR-1.638)
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MATCH 9 (ECS21.564)
BOTKYRKA (BOT) v PAKISTANSKA FORENING (PF)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
BOT Last Five Matches: L W W (Avg Score For 85, Avg Score Against 86)
PF Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 109, Avg Score Against 70)
BOTKYRKA (BOT)
Captain: Asad Iqbal
Wicketkeeper: Muhammad Ali Hassani
Projected Top Four: Zeeshan Mehmood, Ahmed Zulfiqar, Tahir Tarar, Shani Khawaja
Projected Opening Bowlers: Osama Qureshi, Asif Khan
Spin Option(s): Ahmed Zulfiqar, Gurpal Randhawa
BOTKYRKA Key Players:
Tahir Tarar, big hitting all-rounder, boasts previous ECS experience playing for Karlskroma Zalmi Cricketforening. Joint leading run scorer with 72 runs from three games. Has been good with the ball too picking up FIVE wickets at an economy of just over six and a best return of 2-5.
Gurpal Randhawa picked up FIVE wickets on Monday finishing as the top wicket taker with a best return of 3-10.
Zeeshan Mehmood, the all-rounder has racked up 40 runs and picked up FOUR wickets in three games.
Ahmed Zulfiqar is a classy batsman who will open the innings for BOT, can also bowl decent off-spin. Mustered 43 runs at a strike rate of 215 on Tuesday.
Asif Khan, fast bowler,will normally take the new ball and look to provide early breakthroughs.
PAKISTANSKA FORENING (PF)
Captain: Bilal Muhammad
Wicketkeeper: Usama Chaudhry
Projected Top Four: Faraan Chaudhry, Sameer Ali Khan, Muhammad Vajjih Ali, Usama Chaudhry
Projected Opening Bowlers: Bilal Muhammad, Khalil Jalali
Spin Option(s): Sameer Ali Khan, Waqar Hassan
PAKISTANSKA FORENING Key Players:
Sameer Ali Khan, MVP last term, the right hander racked up 106 runs in five innings in the previous edition and was the joint highest wicket taker for PF with EIGHT scalps. Has scored 57 runs in four games and has picked up a couple of wickets as well.
Bilal Muhammad, captain, medium pacer, leading wicket taker for PF last summer with EIGHT wickets at an economy rate of just 5.75. Has scalped FIVE wickets at an economy of 5.14 and a best return of 2-5.
Faraan Chaudhry played for Alby Zalmi last term racking up 94 runs from five innings. Has been selected for the Swedish U19 team. Is currently the top run scorer with 72 runs from four matches.
Muhammad Vajjih Ali, returned man of the match performance of a 17-ball 32 vs STO in the second game to take his side to eighth consecutive wins.
Zubair Aslam, the right arm pacer is leading the wicket taking charts so far with SIX scalps from just three games at an impressive economy of 6.20 and a tournament best figure of 4-11.
Continuing from where they left off last season, Pakistanska Forening have raced to FOUR straight wins this term without breaking a sweat. Botkyrka have shown promise winning two of the three games played and have the quality to surprise PF on their day.
Last time they met: ECS21.556 | PF 101 def BOT 80 (19 Jul 2021)
Match Prediction: Pakistanska Forening (PF) to pick up a fifth straight win this season.
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MATCH 10 v(ECS21.565)
UMEA (UME) v FORENOM ROYALS (FOR)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
UME Last Five Matches: L L (Avg Score For 63, Avg Score Against 83)
FOR Last Five Matches: L L W (Avg Score For 65, Avg Score Against 90)
UMEA (UME)
Captain: Majid Mustafa
Wicketkeeper: Majid Mustafa
Projected Top Four: Majid Mustafa, Arslan Bajwa, Pradeep Singh, Hani Hassan
Projected Opening Bowlers: Amir Husseini, Hani Hassana
Spin Option(s): Abdullah Abrar, Majid Mustafa, Syed Junaid, Mahmood Ahmad
UMEA Key Players:
Majid Mustafa, right handed top order batsman and wicket-keeper, is one of the most reliable batsman with sound technique. He is the all-time leading run scorer and captain of UME. Finished top scorer for UME racking up 34 runs in two games.
Arslan Bajwa finished second highest run scorer for UME on Tuesday with 24 runs to his name. Almost took his side home losing out on Golden Ball.
Hani Hassan, the 19-year old all-rounder is a shining star. He is one of the best batsman in Umea and is a hard bowler to get away. Picked up three wickets at a miser economy of just 5.25 on Tuesday.
Pradeep Singh is a middle order batsman with good technique who can hit huge sixes as well. An economical and tricky bowler to hit due to his tight line and length.
FORENOM ROYALS (FOR)
Captain: Rohit Juneja
Wicketkeeper: Srinivas Manem
Projected Top Four: Rohit Juneja, Anirudh Ram, Sahil Prashar, Srini Jettiboyina
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rohit Juneja, Sahil Prashar
Spin Option(s): Arpit Tiwari, Ameya Bendre
FORENOM ROYALS Key Players:
Rohit Juneja, captain of FOR, will also lead the way with the bat and open the innings. Hasn’t fired with the bat yet scoring just 13 runs in three games but is top wicket taker for FOR with three wickets in three games.
Sahil Prashar, the hard hitting right hander has mustered 93 runs in five T10 innings at a strike rate of 202. He also has three wickets to his name. Returned figures of 3-9 vs BOT on his ECS debut. Golden Ball hero taking FOR to their first ever ECS victory vs Umea.
Arpit Tiwari, bowling all-rounder, is a tidy off-spin bowler with SEVEN T10 wickets to his name in eight matches. Was impressive on the opening day bagging a man of the match award in the first game for scoring 25 runs and picking up 3-14 vs BOT. Top scorer for FOR racking up 58 runs in three innings.
What a thriller we witnessed on Tuesday when the two sides fought out a tantalising Golden Ball finish. Can the two sides repeat that drama on Day 3?
Last time they met: ECS21.563 | FOR 70 def UME 70 on Golden Ball (20 Jul 2021)
Match Prediction: Umea (UME) to avenge the heartbreaking Golden Ball loss on Tuesday.
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MATCH 11 (ECS21.566)
BOTKYRKA (BOT) v FORENOM ROYALS (FOR)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
BOT Last Five Matches: L W W (Avg Score For 85, Avg Score Against 86)
FOR Last Five Matches: L L W (Avg Score For 65, Avg Score Against 90)
BOTKYRKA (BOT)
Captain: Asad Iqbal
Wicketkeeper: Muhammad Ali Hassani
Projected Top Four: Zeeshan Mehmood, Ahmed Zulfiqar, Tahir Tarar, Shani Khawaja
Projected Opening Bowlers: Osama Qureshi, Asif Khan
Spin Option(s): Ahmed Zulfiqar, Gurpal Randhawa
BOTKYRKA Key Players:
Tahir Tarar, big hitting all-rounder, boasts previous ECS experience playing for Karlskroma Zalmi Cricketforening. Joint leading run scorer with 72 runs from three games. Has been good with the ball too picking up FIVE wickets at an economy of just over six and a best return of 2-5.
Gurpal Randhawa picked up FIVE wickets on Monday finishing as the top wicket taker with a best return of 3-10.
Zeeshan Mehmood, the all-rounder has racked up 40 runs and picked up FOUR wickets in three games.
Ahmed Zulfiqar is a classy batsman who will open the innings for BOT, can also bowl decent off-spin. Mustered 43 runs at a strike rate of 215 on Tuesday.
Asif Khan, fast bowler,will normally take the new ball and look to provide early breakthroughs.
FORENOM ROYALS (FOR)
Captain: Rohit Juneja
Wicketkeeper: Srinivas Manem
Projected Top Four: Rohit Juneja, Anirudh Ram, Sahil Prashar, Srini Jettiboyina
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rohit Juneja, Sahil Prashar
Spin Option(s): Arpit Tiwari, Ameya Bendre
FORENOM ROYALS Key Players:
Rohit Juneja, captain of FOR, will also lead the way with the bat and open the innings. Hasn’t fired with the bat yet scoring just 13 runs in three games but is top wicket taker for FOR with three wickets in three games.
Sahil Prashar, the hard hitting right hander has mustered 93 runs in five T10 innings at a strike rate of 202. He also has three wickets to his name. Returned figures of 3-9 vs BOT on his ECS debut. Golden Ball hero taking FOR to their first ever ECS victory vs Umea.
Arpit Tiwari, bowling all-rounder, is a tidy off-spin bowler with SEVEN T10 wickets to his name in eight matches. Was impressive on the opening day bagging a man of the match award in the first game for scoring 25 runs and picking up 3-14 vs BOT. Top scorer for FOR racking up 58 runs in three innings.
Both sides are set for their second outing of the day. Botkyrka have shown some quality on the opening two days and will be favourites to beat the Royals who secured a precious first ever ECS victory via Golden Ball.
Last time they met: ECS21.557 | BOT 68 def FOR 62 (19 Jul 2021)
Match Prediction: Botkyrka (BOT) to win fairly comfortably.
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MATCH 12 (ECS21.567)
UMEA (UME) v STOCKHOLM (STO)
1300 GMT | 1500 CET | 1830 IST
UME Last Five Matches: L L (Avg Score For 63, Avg Score Against 83)
STO Last Five Matches: L L W L L (Avg Score For 83, Avg Score Against 103)
UMEA (UME)
Captain: Majid Mustafa
Wicketkeeper: Majid Mustafa
Projected Top Four: Majid Mustafa, Arslan Bajwa, Pradeep Singh, Hani Hassan
Projected Opening Bowlers: Amir Husseini, Hani Hassana
Spin Option(s): Abdullah Abrar, Majid Mustafa, Syed Junaid, Mahmood Ahmad
UMEA Key Players:
Majid Mustafa, right handed top order batsman and wicket-keeper, is one of the most reliable batsman with sound technique. He is the all-time leading run scorer and captain of UME. Finished top scorer for UME racking up 34 runs in two games.
Arslan Bajwa finished second highest run scorer for UME on Tuesday with 24 runs to his name. Almost took his side home losing out on Golden Ball.
Hani Hassan, the 19-year old all-rounder is a shining star. He is one of the best batsman in Umea and is a hard bowler to get away. Picked up three wickets at a miser economy of just 5.25 on Tuesday.
Pradeep Singh is a middle order batsman with good technique who can hit huge sixes as well. An economical and tricky bowler to hit due to his tight line and length.
STOCKHOLM (STO)
Captain: Chenna Nali
Wicketkeeper: Chenna Nali
Projected Top Four: Ankit Tiwari, Vinod Chalindra, Shiva Arsi, Archan Vaidya
Projected Opening Bowlers: Deepjagan Singh, Harlagan Sandhu
Spin Option(s): Rakesh Kumar, Archan Vaidya
STOCKHOLM Key Players:
Vinod Chalindra, the hard hitting batsman hammered 66 runs in four games at a staggering strike rate of 228. He scored a whopping 76% of his runs in boundaries!
Shiva Arsi racked up 44 runs and ended up as second highest run scorer on Monday.
Deepjagan Singh, right arm fast bowler, looked impressive on the opening day picking up three wickets in two games. Is top wicket taker for STO with FIVE wickets from three matches.
Manoj Tomar has scalped FOUR wickets and is leading second highest wicket taker for STO.
Archan Vaidya is a quality all-rounder and a gun fielder. He will be looking to make an impact in all three departments in his debut ECS season. Scored 35 runs on his ECS debut on Tuesday.
Two evenly matched sides meet and fine margins will normally decide these encounters. Umea face a second outing of the day against a STO side that will have plenty of energy having not played so far on Wednesday. Umea could be basking in their first ever ECS victory or become further demoralised after another heartbreaking loss.
Match Prediction: Stockholm (STO) to bounce back after two back-to-back losses.