The European Cricket Network live broadcasts the 2020 European Cricket Series Malmo encounter between Malmö Kings CC and Helsingborg Royals SC.
Tune in to the live action Monday from 9:30am CEST * 8:30am UK * 7:30am GMT * 1pm IST from the Limhamnsfältet Cricket Ground in Malmo.
Team Preview for Malmö Kings CC
Malmö Kings CC have been pretty impressive in the T20 competition this season to far, winning five out of their six matches that garnered a result. With the likely absence of their star player Pasal Mohammad, the Royals could prove more of a difficult hurdle than they would have originally expected.
Captain & Main Wicketkeeper: Shahid Aslam
Key Players:
Zain Muzaffar has a lot of responsibility in the likely absence of Pasal Mohammad. The left-arm paceman will open the bowling and has a very good economy rate of 6.04 in T20 cricket this season. He is also a very good finished with the bat.
Jahandad Mushtaq is an opening batsman who usually likes to play long innings but won’t have that much time to get going in the T10 format. I will be very interested to see how he adapts.
Sedik Sahak is an accurate right-arm seam bowler. He has taken eight wickets this season at a very respectable economy rate of 6.17.
Chaudhary Tahir Hussain will bowl his left-arm orthodox. He is a known wicket-taking threat but has also been the King’s most economical bowler this season in T20 cricket, with an outstanding economy rate of only 5.7 runs per over.
Team Preview for Helsingborg Royals SC
Helsingborg Royals SC have had their moments in T20 cricket this season, winning half of their eight matches. The ECS represents a clean slate for them and they certainly do have some talented players. They play the first two matches of Monday morning, so it’s a great opportunity for them to get ahead of the pack early.
Captain: Madhan Prabu Raman
Main Wicketkeeper: Pramod Chandrasekaraiah
Key Players:
Abinash Panda will open the batting for the Royals. He has a lot of responsibility for putting a competitive total on the board, so will hope to bat through the ten overs at a good pace. We’ll probably see some of his off spin too, and he possesses quite a deceptive quicker ball which can catch the batsman unaware.
Madhan Prabu Raman will lead the side and can hit a cricket ball a long way. He will bat in the top three and is their leading six hitter this season. With the ball in hand, his medium pacers can tie the opposition down in the middle overs.
Sachin Shetty comes into the side and is a solid all-round cricketer. He will most likely open the bowling, searching for early wickets, while bolstering their middle order batting.
Sadashiv Gour is the go-to man with the ball for the Royals. He has taken 13 wickets in T20s this season, but has been wayward at times, bowling far too many wides but still has the best economy rate of any Royals bowler (6.20 runs per over). If he can eliminate the extras, he will be an even more valuable player.
Mr Maximo’s tip: MALMÖ KINGS CC
This is going to me a much closer contest than many will think, due to the likely absence of the King of Kings, Pasal Mohammad. I am predicting some other Malmö Kings to hold the throne in his absence though and think they will sneak past the Helsingborg Royals in the tournament opener. I’m certainly optimistic that there will many close finishes this week in the European Cricket and this could definitely be one of them!
