European Cricket Network live broadcasts four T10 matches on Day 2 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Germany Kiel on Tuesday 1 June.
Late entrants SG Hameln enter the fray and we especially value their efforts in taking part at the last minute, bearing in mind the fact that Hameln is over 300km away from Kiel. SGH face a tough task against Group A favourites MTV Stallions who started with serious intent on Monday with two convincing wins. Two debutants, Moorburger TSV and First Contact, will battle it out for a first ever ECS win in the second half of Day 2.
Group A
KHTC 1.Kieler HTC (2-0, NRR+4.893)
MTV MTV Stallions (2-0, NRR+2.447)
SGH SG Hameln (0-0, NRR+0.000)
FCT First Contact (0-2, NRR-2.447)
MTSV Moorburger TSV (0-2, NRR-4.893)
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MATCH 5 (ECS21.392)
MTV STALLIONS (MTV) v SG HAMELN (SGH)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
MATCH 6 (ECS21.393)
MTV STALLIONS (MTV) v SG HAMELN (SGH)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
MTV Last Five Matches: L L W W W (Avg Score For 97, Avg Score Against 88)
SGH Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
MTV STALLIONS (MTV)
Captain: Gaurav Singh Rathore
Wicketkeeper: Sachin Mandy
Projected Top Four: Basit Orya, Prashanth Potharlanka, Sachin Mandy, Gaurav Singh Rathore
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ujwal Gadiraju, Basit Orya
Spin Options: Asghar Amarkhil, Gaurav Singh Rathore, Prashanth Potharlanka
MTV STALLIONS Key Players:
Basit Orya, a swashbuckling opening batsman who loves throwing caution to the wind. He is every bowler's nightmare when on song, mustered 59 runs at a strike rate of 155 andalso picked up a couple of wickets on the opening day, bagging back-to-back man of the match awards. Can also bowl a mean inswinger that readily swallows toes or timber!
Sachin Mandy, wicket-keeper, always switched on behind the wickets, and has the potential to turn a game on its head with the bat. Pumped to make a lasting impression during his debut season with the Stallions, he started with intent, racking up 52 runs from two matches.
Ujwal Gadiraju, leads the Stallion's bowling attack, swings the ball both ways making batsmen look silly, has a good slower ball and can hit some lusty blows down the order, picked up two wickets from two games at an economy rate of just seven.
Mohammad Faruq Arabzai, talented all-rounder, clocks good speeds while bowling and drives the ball exquisitely, was leading run scorer for Stallions at ECS Kummerfeld racking up 122 runs from six innings. He also scalped seven wickets with the ball.
SG HAMELN (SGH)
Captain: Thusitha Ratnayake
Wicketkeeper: Saran Kannan
Projected Top Four: Safi Rahman, Saran Kannan, Mudassar Iqbal, Thusitha Ratnayake
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ankit Tomar, Mudassar Iqbal
Spin Options: Muneeb Mohammad, Romal Barakzai
SG HAMELN Key Players:
Safi Rahman, big hitting opening batsman, will look to capitalize on the opportunity to play on the grand European Cricket stage.
Mudassar Iqbal, all-rounder, top order batsman who likes to hit the ball hard, will take the new cherry and hope to provide early breakthroughs.
Thusitha Ratnayake, captain, a capable middle order batsman who can bowl with great zeal if he is not keeping.
Ankit Tomar, left arm fast bowler, leads the SGH bowling attack and can swing the ball at good pace.
Last minute team SG Hameln face a tough introduction against MTV Stallions. The Stallions enjoyed a good outing on the opening day winning both their games comfortably and will be aiming to make it four wins in a row against a new SGH side.
Match Prediction: MTV Stallions (MTV) to win both games with plenty to spare.
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MATCH 7 (ECS21.394)
MOORBURGER TSV (MTSV) v FIRST CONTACT (FCT)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
MATCH 8 (ECS21.395)
MOORBURGER TSV (MTSV) v FIRST CONTACT (FCT)
1300 GMT | 1500 CET | 1830 IST
MTSV Last Five Matches: L L (Avg Score For 53, Avg Score Against 110)
FCT Last Five Matches: L L (Avg Score For 65, Avg Score Against 89)
MOORBURGER TSV (MTSV)
Captain: Sachin Tawde
Wicketkeeper: Abhishek Chandrashekar
Projected Top Four: Deepak Prakash, Faizan Farooq, Aditya Gopinath, Abhishek Chandrashekar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Shardul Joshi, Imran Tariq
Spin Options: Aditya Gopinath, Arun Prakash, Faizan Farooq
MOORBURGER TSV Key Players:
Aditya Gopinath, a solid top order batsman with good technique, and is an equally talented leg-spinner, scalped two wickets at an economy rate of just 6.50.
Faizan Farooq will normally open the batting for MTSV and will be keen to provide quick starts. He is also a part-time off-break bowler.
Azizgul Khalil, young talented bowling all-rounder, bowls with good pace and can swing the ball both ways, also capable of scoring quick runs in the middle order.
Samjit Chandran, right arm medium pace bowler, generally a middle over enforcer but is adaptable enough to bowl with the new ball and at the death as well.
FIRST CONTACT (FCT)
Captain: Mohamad Sharif Safi
Wicketkeeper: Mohammad Akbar Jabarkhel
Projected Top Four: Mohammad Akbar Jabarkhel, Imran Khan Hassan, Zakirullah Zakhil, Salman Haider
Projected Opening Bowlers: Mohamad Sharif Safi, Abdulrahman Amarkhail
Spin Options: Salman Haider, Nassrullah Amla
FIRST CONTACT Key Players:
Mohammad Akbar Jabarkhel, wicket-keeper batsman, all-time leading run scorer for the club, will open the innings for FCT, loves playing the cover drive.
Zahir Shah Zakhil, after falling for a golden duck in the first game, the left handed batsman showed a wide array of shots in the next game smashing 34 off 19 balls. He did return with impressive figures of 2-7 in the first game.
Sadam Sherzad, top wicket taker for FCT on Monday scalping 3-19 against MTV in the second match.
Salman Haider, leading all-rounder, will contribute with bat and his canny leg breaks are to be respected.
A meeting of two debutants both of whom are still seeking their first win.
Moorburger TSV had a tough debut day, losing twice to the hosts early on Monday with their batting coming under serious pressure, only mustering scores of 48 and 58.
Likewise, First Contact twice came unstuck against Group A favourites MTV Stallions which is certainly no disgrace.
Match Prediction: Considering the average scores and on field performance of both teams, First Contact (FCT) would appear to have a slight edge over MTSV and are likely to walk away with a couple of wins.