European Cricket Network live broadcasts five T10 matches on Day 14 of the FanCode ECS Spain, Barcelona on Thursday 25 February.
Group A is by far the most competitive group and after losing twice on Tuesday, deposed leaders Bengali slipped all the way down to fourth in the standings. With three teams on nine points, Group A is wide open, any of the top four teams can still qualify for Finals day, making today’s matchups all the more interesting.
CATCatalunya Tigers (4-1, NRR+5.307)
GRAGracia (4-2, NRR+3.156)
MIBMen In Blue (4-2, NRR-0.330)
BENBengali (4-3, NRR-1.085)
FTHFateh (1-4, NRR-2.597)
XI-SXI Stars (0-5, NRR-4.120)
MATCH 66 (ECS21.066)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB) v XI STARS (XI-S)
0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST
MIB Last Five Matches: W W L W W (Avg Score For 93, Avg Score Against 96)
XI-S Last Five Matches: L L L L L (Avg Score For 90, Avg Score Against 131)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Prasanna Jathan
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Prasanna Jathan, 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 four wickets and 170 runs including two man of the match performances.
Shubhdeep Deb, dependable, has scored 101 runs including a couple of match winning cameos.
Abhishek Borikar, star bowler, leading wicket taker for MIB with five scalps, delivered the successful Golden Ball against Gracia.
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:
Amir Hamza, hard hitting batsman, has mustered 80 runs at a strike rate of 258.
Umar Riaz, leading wicket taker (6) for XI-S, returned figures of 3-11 vs MIB in the last meeting.
Hamza Khan enjoyed a great outing against MIB last time, picking up 2-7 in two overs.
Men In Blue enjoyed a fantastic day on Tuesday, winning both their games. With nine points in the bag, MIB sit nicely behind the table toppers, CAT and GRA, only on NRR. This game represents an opportunity for MIB to boost their NRR and pile the pressure on the teams above.
Last time they met: ECS21.011 | MIB 63 def XI-S 52 (10 Feb 2021)
Match Prediction: MEN IN BLUE (MIB) to win comfortably.
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MATCH 67 (ECS21.067)
CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) v MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST
CAT Last Five Matches: NR W W W W (Avg Score For 161, Avg Score Against 94)
MIB Last Five Matches: W W L W W (Avg Score For 93, Avg Score Against 96)
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, fresh from a blistering 33-ball 116 that included 13 HUGE maximos, is leading run scorer (245) and wicket taker (7) for CAT.
Mustansar Iqbal has piled up 195 runs including a century at a staggering strike rate of 279.
Saqib Latif has mustered 90 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 230!
Razaqat Ali became the first man to pick up a five-for this season, scalping five XI-S wickets for just seven runs.
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Prasanna Jathan
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Prasanna Jathan, 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 four wickets and 170 runs including two man of the match performances.
Shubhdeep Deb, dependable, has scored 101 runs including a couple of match winning cameos.
Abhishek Borikar, star bowler, leading wicket taker for MIB with five scalps, delivered the successful Golden Ball against Gracia.
Both these teams play one more game during the day apart from this one and with NRR being the only differentiator between these two teams at the moment, whoever wins this battle will finish the week at the summit of Group A.
Last time they met: ECS21.024 | CAT 135 def MIB 91 (12 Feb 2021)
Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to register their fifth straight victory.
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MATCH 68 (ECS21.068)
XI STARS (XI-S) v BENGALI (BEN)
1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST
XI-S Last Five Matches: L L L L L (Avg Score For 90, Avg Score Against 131)
BEN Last Five Matches: W W L L L (Avg Score For 98, Avg Score Against 119)
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:
Amir Hamza, hard hitting batsman, has mustered 80 runs at a strike rate of 258.
Umar Riaz, leading wicket taker for XI-S, has six wickets with a best of 3-11.
Tabish Qahqous showed promise early with 50 off 24 balls, needs to convert his starts into big scores.
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaz Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaz Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Riaz Howladar, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Hasan Bin Hakim
BENGALI Key Players:
Shafiqur Rahman, leading run scorer for BEN with 181 runs to his name, struggled on Tuesday, needs to take more responsibility.
Omar Ali has been in fine touch of late scoring 84 runs in the previous two games including a fine half century.
Riaz Howladar, captain, all rounder, has picked up three wickets and scored over a hundred runs.
Mosaraf Hossain has been very impressive with the ball picking up eight wickets from seven games.
After winning the first four games, Bengali find themselves in a spot of bother having lost their next three. Facing a winless XI Stars side, this is a perfect matchup for BEN to return to winning ways.
Last time they met: ECS21.013 | BEN 104 def XI-S 102 (10 Feb 2021)
Match Prediction: BENGALI (BEN) to get their elusive fifth win.
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MATCH 69 (ECS21.069)
CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) v FATEH (FTH)
1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST
CAT Last Five Matches: NR W W W W (Avg Score For 161, Avg Score Against 94)
FTH Last Five Matches: L L W L L (Avg Score For 92, Avg Score Against 118)
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, fresh from a blistering 33-ball 116 that included 13 HUGE maximos, is leading run scorer (245) and wicket taker (7) for CAT.
Mustansar Iqbal has piled up 195 runs including a century at a staggering strike rate of 279.
Saqib Latif has mustered 90 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 230!
Razaqat Ali became the first man to pick up a five-for this season, scalping five XI-S wickets for just seven runs.
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:
Manjinder Singh Lovely, captain, all rounder, top scorer for Fateh with 78 runs and three wickets to his name.
Gurvinder Singh Sr continued his good form with the ball on Tuesday. He now has six wickets from four games.
Randip Singh Daid has hit the most sixes (6) for Fateh while racking up 57 runs.
If Catalunya Tigers come unstuck against Men In Blue earlier in the day, this becomes a must win encounter to stay in contention for Finals day. CAT should be able to get the job done here.
Last time they met: ECS21.004 | Match Abandoned (8 Feb 2021)
Match Prediction: CATALUNYA TIGERS (CAT) to romp home with a crushing win over Fateh.
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MATCH 70 (ECS21.070)
FATEH (FTH) v BENGALI (BEN)
1530 GMT | 1630 CET | 2100 IST
FTH Last Five Matches: L L W L L (Avg Score For 92, Avg Score Against 118)
BEN Last Five Matches: W W L L L (Avg Score For 98, Avg Score Against 119)
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:
Manjinder Singh Lovely, captain, all rounder, top scorer for Fateh with 78 runs and three wickets to his name.
Gurvinder Singh Sr continued his good form with the ball on Tuesday. He now has six wickets from four games.
Randip Singh Daid has hit the most sixes (6) for Fateh while racking up 57 runs.
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaz Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaz Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Riaz Howladar, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Hasan Bin Hakim
BENGALI Key Players:
Shafiqur Rahman, leading run scorer for BEN with 181 runs to his name, struggled on Tuesday, needs to take more responsibility.
Omar Ali has been in fine touch of late scoring 84 runs in the previous two games including a fine half century.
Riaz Howladar, captain, all rounder, has picked up three wickets and scored over a hundred runs.
Mosaraf Hossain has been very impressive with the ball picking up eight wickets from seven games.
Bengali face another struggling team in Group A. BEN need to improve their NRR to get back in the race for Finals day.
Last time they met: ECS21.015 | BEN 98 def FTH 84 (10 Feb 2021)
Match Prediction: BENGALI (BEN) to win handsomely.