Our final event of another action-packed year, FanCode ECS Malta Encore provides an opportunity for ten leading Maltese teams to showcase their skills on the magnificent island of Malta, contesting 47 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 11 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Malta Encore on Friday 3 December.
Four mouth watering knockout games await on the beautiful island of Malta.
Group A
MTD Mater Dei (5-1-2, NRR+1.468)
MSW Msida Warriors (4-2-2, NRR+0.695)
SOC Southern Crusaders (3-5, NRR-0.236)
BBL Bugibba Blasters (2-4-2, NRR-0.502)
OVR Overseas (2-4-2, NRR-1.168)
Group B
AUM American University of Malta (7-1, NRR+3.026)
AUK Atlas UTC Knights (5-2-1, NRR+2.032)
MAR Marsa (4-3-1, NRR+2.343)
RST Royal Strikers (2-6, NRR-2.985)
GOZ Gozo (1-7, NRR-3.504)
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1ST QUARTER FINAL - MATCH 41 (ECS21.916)
MSIDA WARRIORS (MSW) v MARSA (MAR)
0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST
MSW Last Five Matches: W NR NR W W (Avg Score For 78, Avg Score Against 71)
MAR Last Five Matches: L W W W W (Avg Score For 102, Avg Score Against 79)
Official Betting Partner of the ECN Bet nowMSIDA WARRIORS (MSW)
Captain: Shijil Joy
Wicketkeeper: Rockey Dianish
Projected Top Four: Sajith Sukumaran, Renil Paul, Divyesh Kumar, Rockey Dianish
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sajith Sukumaran, Basil Joy
Spin Options: Ashwin Paul
MSIDA WARRIORS Key Players:
Rockey Dianish, right handed top order batter, leading run scorer for MSW scoring 118 runs in five games.
Divyesh Kumar, right handed batter, second highest scorer for MSW racking up 110 runs in five innings. Has the best strike rate among all MSW batters. He also picked up THREE wickets.
Joy Mathai, right arm medium pacer, second highest wicket taker for MSW picking up FIVE wickets including a player of the match performance of 3-11.
Shijil Joy, right arm pacer, the skipper has bowled tidy spells in the middle overs and is leading the wickets column for MSW scalping SIX wickets in six games at an ER of six and a best return of 3-9.
MARSA (MAR)
Captain: Haroon Mughal
Wicketkeeper: John Grima
Projected Top Four: Fanyan Mughal, Zeeshan Khan, Niraj Khanna, Nowell Khosla
Projected Opening Bowlers: Fazil Khan, Waseem Abbas
Spin Options: David Athwal, Haroon Mughal
MARSA Key Players:
Nowell Khosla, a handy all-rounder, is a natural strokemaker with the bat and a quality spin bowler. Third highest scorer for MAR racking up 90 runs in seven innings.
Fanyan Mughal, right handed bat and left arm medium pacer, top scorer for MAR muscling 134 runs in seven innings. Has picked up a couple of wickets as well.
Zeeshan Khan, one of the top players for Marsa, is fearless and loves to take on the new ball bowlers. Second highest run scorer for MAR racking up 101 runs in six innings including a POTM effort of 51 off 29 vs Gozo on Thursday.
David Athwal, experienced right arm spinner, top wicket taker for MAR scalping SIX wickets in three matches at an economy rate of just 4.00.
Haroon Mughal, right arm spinner, the skipper is leading from the front picking up FIVE wickets in six games with a best return of 3-8.
After losing three games on the trot, Marsa turned things around nicely to win their remaining four games convincingly. With momentum on their side, MAR will be aiming to repeat their heroics from 2020 and lift their second ECS trophy. Msida Warriors too have enjoyed a good run this season finishing second in Group A with four wins and will fancy their chances of making it to the Finals Day.
Last time they met: Match Abandoned (25 Nov 2020)
Match Prediction: Marsa (MAR) to edge a narrow win.
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2ND QUARTER FINAL - MATCH 42 (ECS21.917)
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK) v SOUTHERN CRUSADERS (SOC)
0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST
AUK Last Five Matches: W W L L W(Avg Score For 101, Avg Score Against 84)
SOC Last Five Matches: W L W L L (Avg Score For 76, Avg Score Against 78)
Official Betting Partner of the ECN Bet nowATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK)
Captain: Sujesh Appu
Wicketkeeper: Avinash Dileep
Projected Top Four: Samuel Stanislaus, Manoj Panicker, Basil George, Avinash Dileep
Projected Opening Bowlers: Asif Sha, Justin Shaju
Spin Options: Samuel Stanislaus
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS Key Players:
Basil George, star all-rounder, powerhouse of AUK with the bat, has the ability to smash all around the park. Has scored 95 runs and picked up TWO wickets in four games so far. He will be back in the side for the all-important quarter final.
Samuel Stanislaus, Knight's Mr Dependable, has been the leading run scorer for AUK in both the previous ECS editions. He can also roll his arm when needed. Top scorer in the tournament so far racking up 196 runs in seven innings including a 30-ball 51* vs Gozo. He has also picked up THREE wickets.
Avinash Dileep, wicket keeper batter, second highest scorer for AUK racking up 109 runs in seven innings.
Sujesh Appu, AUK skipper, has bowled brilliantly so far sticking to tight line and lengths. Top wicket taker for AUK scalping SIX wickets.
SOUTHERN CRUSADERS (SOC)
Captain: Zeshan Yousaf
Wicketkeeper: Cindu Shanmuganathan
Projected Top Four: Sumair Khan,Ezhaq Masih,Zeshan Yousaf, Muhammad Bilal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Bilal Khan, Zeshan Yousaf
Spin Options: Jojo Thomas, Suhrid Roy
SOUTHERN CRUSADERS Key Players:
Bilal Khan, is one of the fastest bowlers in Malta with the ability to move the ball both ways. Highest run scorer and wicket taker for SOC racking up 77 runs and picking up NINE wickets in eight games at an ER of 5.60.
Jojo Thomas, right handed batter and arm finger spinner, has scored 65 runs in seven games and has also picked up FIVE wickets including a best return of 3-14 vs OVR.
Zeshan Yousaf, all-rounder, moves the ball both ways, second highest run scorer and wicket taker for SOC scoring 70 runs and picking up EIGHT wickets.
Atlas UTC Knights finished second with five wins in eight games while one of their games was abandoned. Bronze Medal winners at FanCode ECS Malta 2021, AUK will be keen to go all the way. On the contrary, Southern Crusaders have had a mixed tournament winning just three games. SOC have also been out of action for a week now and are likely to struggle against AUK.
Last time they met: ECS21.439 | AUK 100 def SOC 94 (14 Jun 2021)
Match Prediction: Atlas UTC Knights (AUK) to win an entertaining affair.
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3RD QUARTER FINAL - MATCH 43 (ECS21.918)
MATER DEI (MTD) v ROYAL STRIKERS (RST)
1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST
MTD Last Five Matches: W NR NR W W (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 80)
RST Last Five Matches: L LW W L(Avg Score For 69, Avg Score Against 99)
Official Betting Partner of the ECN Bet nowMATER DEI (MTD)
Captain: Sam Aquilina
Wicketkeeper: Sam Aquilina
Projected Top Four: Cornelius Younus, Azeem Sathi, Muhammad Suleman, Michael Nazir
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rency Jacob, Edward Mahima
Spin Options: Michael Nazir, Atif Sharazy, Salman Khan
MATER DEI Key Players:
Cornelius Younus, left-handed opening batsman who likes to go after the bowlers from ball one. Highest scorer for MTD racking up 88 runs in four innings.
Azeem Sathi, a destructive right handed batter, and fierce medium pace bowler, has looked in fine form scoring 86 runs in six games. He has also picked up FOUR wickets.
Michael Nazir, former national team player, decent batsman who times the ball very well. A crafty off-spinner who can deceive batsmen with his change in pace. Has bagged a couple of player of the match awards for his impactful performances with both bat and ball scoring a total of 65 runs and picking up SIX wickets.
Pintu Ghosh, the right arm medium pacer jointly leads the wickets column for MTD picking up SIX wickets in four games including a match winning spell of 4-21 vs OVR.
ROYAL STRIKERS (RST)
Captain: Savio Thomas
Wicketkeeper: Manuel Jobi
Projected Top Four: Rejit Abraham, Livin Varghese, Kushlesh Koppaka, Manuel Jobi
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rubin James, Jaison Jerome
Spin Options: Ashwin Raju, Jaimon Johnson
ROYAL STRIKERS Key Players:
Livin Varghese, right handed batter, highest scorer for RST scoring 101 runs in eight games. Bagged back-to-back player of the match awards in the two wins for RST.
Kushlesh Koppaka, valuable all-rounder, second highest scorer for RST racking up 78 runs in eight innings. Has also picked up THREE wickets.
Rubin James, right arm fast bowler, top wicket taker for RST picking up SIX wickets in eight games.
After reaching quarter-finals in the previous edition, Mater Dei have followed up brilliantly in this tournament to top Group A with five wins and one loss. MTD will start huge favourites against RST who bagged the last quarter-final spot with a thrilling win over AUK.
Match Prediction: Mater Dei (MTD) to sail through to the semi-finals.
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4TH QUARTER FINAL - MATCH 44 (ECS21.919)
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF MALTA (AUM) v BUGIBBA BLASTERS (BBL)
1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST
AUM Last Five Matches: W W W L W (Avg Score For 105, Avg Score Against 74)
BBL Last Five Matches: L NR NR L L (Avg Score For 82, Avg Score Against 87)
Official Betting Partner of the ECN Bet nowAMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF MALTA (AUM)
Captain: Jit Patel
Wicketkeeper: Darshit Patankar
Projected Top Four: Darshit Patankar, Abhishek Prajapati, Jassi Singh, Saneesh Kumar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Jit Patel, Shubh Patel
Spin Options: Zoheb Malek, Abhishek Kuntala, Darshnik Gohil
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF MALTA Key Players:
Zoheb Malek, a valuable all-rounder, took AUM to a thrilling victory over MAR scoring a crucial 18 off 10 balls. He has scalped SEVEN wickets as well including best figures of 2-1 vs RST.
Darshit Patankar, the wicket-keeper batter is the third highest scorer for AUM racking up 143 runs in six innings.
Varun Prasath, the left-hander featured for the victorious Super Kings at FanCode ECS Malta 2021. Highest scorer for AUM amassing 156 runs in seven innings. He has also picked up EIGHT wickets.
Bikram Arora, Malta national team captain, another Super Kings player, second highest scorer for AUM scoring 149 runs in just three games.
Jit Patel, the skipper is leading the wickets column for his side picking up 10 wickets in eight games at an ER of 6.07 and a best return of 2-4.
BUGIBBA BLASTERS (BBL)
Captain: Partha Das
Wicketkeeper: Devendra Negi
Projected Top Four: Gaurav Maithani, Vijay Singh, Faiz Ullah, Kalki Kumar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sohan Singh, Suresh Dobal
Spin Options: Partha Das
BUGIBBA BLASTERS Key Players:
Gaurav Maithani, solid, technical top-order batter, boasts previous ECS experience playing for SOC in 2020, can hit big sixes, highest scorer for BBL racking up 148 runs in six games including an unbeaten 77 off 30 balls vs OVR.
Faiz Ullah, top-order batter with a cool and calm mindset, a good runner between the wickets who can convert singles into doubles, plays along the ground more often and is also good at finding gaps. Second highest scorer for BBL racking up 77 runs in three innings including an unbeaten 52 off 35 balls.
Suresh Dobal, right-arm pacer, well known for his speed, is capable of swinging the ball both ways. Top wicket taker for BBL scalping FOUR wickets in six games.
American University of Malta have been outstanding in the group stages winning seven of their eight games. Boosted by a couple of Malta Internationals, AUM have looked the best team in the tournament by far and will be starting favourites against Bugibba Blasters.
Match Prediction: American University of Malta (AUM) to win at a canter.
