The third day of the FanCode ECS Spain Barcelona sees five Group A matchups with a couple of intense rivalries promising box office thrillers.
Group A
BEN Bengali (2-0 +0.200)
FTH Fateh (0-0 +0.00)
GRA Gracia (0-0 +0.00)
XI-S XI Stars (0-0 +0.00)
CAT Catalunya Tigers (0-1 -0.100)
MIB Men in Blue (0-1 -0.300)
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MATCH 11 (ECS21.011)
XI STARS (XI-S) v MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST
XI-S Last Five Matches: NR
MIB Last Five Matches: W L L L NR (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 117)
XI STARS (XI-S)
Captain: Asif Mehmood
Wicketkeeper: Amir Hamza
Projected Top Four: Tanveer Shah, Tabish Qahqous, Asif Mehmood, Abubakar Hussain
Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Riaz, Muneeb Ishfaq
Spin Options: Zubair Ahmed, Tanveer Shah
XI STARS Key Players:
Tanveer Shah is the all-time leading run-scorer for XI-S in the shortest format, amassing 232 runs from 10 matches. He can also roll his arm over with his deceptive offies.
Asif Mehmood, captain, will aim to lead by example and score quick runs at the top to get his team off to a flier.
Tabish Qahqous, big hitting opener, is one of the most experienced players in XI-S. He has scored 238 runs from 15 games across all formats.
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Sanjeev Tiwari
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Shubhdeep Deb, Rinku Sihol, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Projected Opening Bowlers: Abhishek Borikar, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Spin Options: Atul Kesar, Harihar Sridhar
MEN IN BLUE Key Players:
Shankar Kaligatla started off the tournament with a bang, smashing 51 off 35 balls including two fours and four sixes.
Atul Kesar impressed against the Bengali batsmen conceding just 6 runs in his two overs. He also picked up two wickets in the process.
Sachin Sudarshana was brilliant with his line and length in the opening game and was rewarded with two wickets.
With rain playing spoilsport on Day 1, both XI-s and MIB each lost a game to the weather, which could have an impact later on in the tournament. This will be a virtual debut for XI-s while MIB look to register their first win of the campaign.
Match Prediction: MEN IN BLUE (MIB) to win a close contest.
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MATCH 12 (ECS21.012)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB) v GRACIA (GRA)
0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST
MIB Last Five Matches: W L L L NR (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 117)
GRA Last Five Matches: L W W L NR (Avg Score For 108, Avg Score Against 114)
MEN IN BLUE (MIB)
Captain: Sanjeev Tiwari
Wicketkeeper: Sanjeev Tiwari
Projected Top Four: Shankar Kaligatla, Shubhdeep Deb, Rinku Sihol, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Projected Opening Bowlers: Abhishek Borikar, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian
Spin Options: Atul Kesar, Harihar Sridhar
MEN IN BLUE Key Players:
Shankar Kaligatla started off the tournament with a bang, smashing 51 off 35 balls including two fours and four sixes.
Atul Kesar impressed against the Bengali batsmen conceding just 6 runs in his two overs. He also picked up two wickets in the process.
Sachin Sudarshana was brilliant with his line and length in the opening game and was rewarded with two wickets.
GRACIA (GRA)
Captain: Kuldeep Lal
Wicketkeeper: Mayank Dayal
Projected Top Four: Kuldeep Lal, Mukhtiar Singh, Gurwinder Bajwa, Kulwant Thakur
Projected Opening Bowlers: Trilochan Singh, Harkamal Singh
Spin Options: Harpreet Sodhi, Abhishek Khullar
GRACIA Key Players:
Kuldeep Lal is the most consistent player in ECS, scoring over 150 runs in every ECS tournament he has played.
Mukhtiar Singh, Spanish International, hammered 93 runs at a strike rate of 207 and grabbed 6 wickets at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Trilochan Singh is the leading wicket taker for Gracia in ECS with 8 scalps from 7 matches.
Men In Blue and Gracia will face off for the second time at ECS. Having lost a game each to the weather on the first day, players from both sides would be eager to get on the field. A thriller is on the cards!
Last time they met: GRA 74(9.2) def MIB 72 (23 Oct 2020)
Match Prediction: GRACIA (GRA) to win a close contest.
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MATCH 13 (ECS21.013)
BENGALI (BEN) v XI STARS (XI-S)
1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST
BEN Last Five Matches: L L W W W (Avg Score For 98, Avg Score Against 94)
XI-S Last Five Matches: NR
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaj Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaj Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Riaj Howladar, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Nadim Hussain
BENGALI Key Players:
Shafiqur Rahman was the star man on the opening day, hammering 85 runs in two marvellous innings at a strike rate of over 193.
Alauddin Siddique brings in a different bowling variation with his left arm wrist spin. He picked up seven wickets from seven games in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Riaj Howladar bagged 12 wickets in ECS Barcelona 2020 including match winning figures of 5-12.
Mosaraf Hossain looked in good touch with his 25-ball 33 on day one. He will be looking to score big against an inexperienced XI-S side.
XI STARS (XI-S)
Captain: Asif Mehmood
Wicketkeeper: Amir Hamza
Projected Top Four: Tanveer Shah, Tabish Qahqous, Asif Mehmood, Abubakar Hussain
Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Riaz, Muneeb Ishfaq
Spin Options: Zubair Ahmed, Tanveer Shah
XI STARS Key Players:
Tanveer Shah is the all-time leading run-scorer for XI-S in the shortest format, amassing 232 runs from 10 matches. He can also roll his arm over with his deceptive offies.
Asif Mehmood, captain, will aim to lead by example and score quick runs at the top to get his team off to a flier.
Tabish Qahqous, big hitting opener, is one of the most experienced players in XI-S. He has scored 238 runs from 15 games across all formats.
Bengali are coming into this match after back-to-back last ball wins and will be keen to keep their winning streak alive. XI Stars have nothing to lose and will look to spring a shock against the in-form team.
Match Prediction: BENGALI (BEN) to win comfortably.
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MATCH 14 (ECS21.014)
FATEH (FTH) v GRACIA (GRA)
1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST
FTH Last Five Matches: L L L NR NR (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 141)
GRA Last Five Matches: L W W L NR (Avg Score For 92, Avg Score Against 94)
FATEH (FTH)
Captain: Manjinder Singh
Wicketkeeper: Lakhvir Singh
Projected Top Four: Mirza Hamza Baig, Manjinder Singh, Happy Singh, Rajiv Singh
Projected Opening Bowlers: Randip Singh, Naghman Hussain
Spin Options: Rajiv Singh
FATEH Key Players:
Happy Singh is the leading run-scorer for Fateh in ECS with 259 runs to his name.
Manjinder Singh bagged 7 wickets and played a couple of useful cameos in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Gurvinder Singh racked up 86 runs in just two games, including eight towering sixes.
GRACIA (GRA)
Captain: Kuldeep Lal
Wicketkeeper: Mayank Dayal
Projected Top Four: Kuldeep Lal, Mukhtiar Singh, Gurwinder Bajwa, Kulwant Thakur
Projected Opening Bowlers: Trilochan Singh, Harkamal Singh
Spin Options: Harpreet Sodhi, Abhishek Khullar
GRACIA Key Players:
Kuldeep Lal is the most consistent player in ECS, scoring over 150 runs in every ECS tournament he has played.
Mukhtiar Singh, Spanish International, hammered 93 runs at a strike rate of 207 and grabbed 6 wickets at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Trilochan Singh is the leading wicket taker for Gracia in ECS with 8 scalps from 7 matches.
Boosted by a couple of Spanish internationals in their side, Gracia will start as favourites to clinch this match. Can Fateh stop them to register their first win in seven games?
Match Prediction: GRACIA (GRA) to win comfortably.
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MATCH 15 (ECS21.015)
BENGALI (BEN) v FATEH (FTH)
1530 GMT | 1630 CET | 2100 IST
BEN Last Five Matches: L L L W W (Avg Score For 98, Avg Score Against 94)
FTH Last Five Matches: L L L NR NR (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 141)
BENGALI (BEN)
Captain: Riaj Howladar
Wicketkeeper: Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Top Four: Omar Ali, Mosaraf Hossain, Riaj Howladar, Shafiqur Rahman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Riaj Howladar, Omar Ali
Spin Options: Nadim Hussain
BENGALI Key Players:
Shafiqur Rahman was the star man on the opening day, hammering 85 runs in two marvellous innings at a strike rate of over 193.
Alauddin Siddique brings in a different bowling variation with his left arm wrist spin. He picked up seven wickets from seven games in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Riaj Howladar bagged 12 wickets in ECS Barcelona 2020 including match winning figures of 5-12.
Mosaraf Hossain looked in good touch with his 25-ball 33 on day one. He will be looking to score big against an inexperienced XI-S side.
FATEH (FTH)
Captain: Manjinder Singh
Wicketkeeper: Lakhvir Singh
Projected Top Four: Mirza Hamza Baig, Manjinder Singh, Happy Singh, Rajiv Singh
Projected Opening Bowlers: Randip Singh, Naghman Hussain
Spin Options: Rajiv Singh
FATEH Key Players:
Happy Singh is the leading run-scorer for Fateh in ECS with 259 runs to his name.
Manjinder Singh bagged 7 wickets and played a couple of useful cameos in ECS Barcelona 2020.
Gurvinder Singh racked up 86 runs in just two games, including eight towering sixes.
It was a cracker of a game the last time these two sides locked horns with Fateh winning the Golden Ball finish. Bengali, having form on their side, will be itching to avenge that narrow defeat.
Last time they met: FTH (95) def BEN (95) on GOLDEN BALL (12 Oct 2020)
Match Prediction: BENGALI (BEN) to win a close contest.