After an enthralling opening week of European Cricket Series action in beautiful Barcelona which saw two magnificent centuries on day 5, Week Two commences with five exciting Group C matches with a couple of old rivalries to add extra spice.
MIN Minhaj
RAS Raval Sporting
BAK Bangladesh Kings
SKYSkyways
KHAKharian
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MATCH 26 (ECS21.026)
RAVAL SPORTING (RAS) v MINHAJ (MIN)
0730 GMT | 0830 CET | 1300 IST
RAS Last Five Matches: L L L W W (Avg Score For 104, Avg Score Against 113)
MIN Last Five Matches: L L L W L (Avg Score For 113, Avg Score Against 123)
RAVAL SPORTING (RAS)
Captain: Karan Datta
Wicketkeeper: Kishitij Patel
Projected Top Four: Kishitij Patel, Karan Datta, Davinder Singh, Manish Manwani
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rizwan Muhammad, Dawood Masood
Spin Options: Karan Datta, Gaurang Mahyavanshi
RAVAL SPORTING Key Players:
Ishan Patel all-time leading run scorer and wicket taker. The ex-captain set the standard for Raval Sporting with a series of impressive performances with bat and ball in the Autumn.
Manish Manwani, ultra-talented 17-year-old left handed batsman, highly capable of chipping in with useful wickets.
Gaurang Mahyavanshi, talented spinner, has 20 ECS wickets under his belt from just 15 matches.
Kishitij Patel, wicketkeeper batsman, amassed 209 runs at an average of 30 including two fifties.
MINHAJ (MIN)
Captain: Amar Shahzad
Wicketkeeper: Awais Ahmed
Projected Top Four: Awais Ahmed, Jafar Iqbal, Usman Mushtaq, Muhammad Riaz
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Riaz, Amar Shahzad
Spin Options: Ameer Hamzah
MINHAJ Key Players:
Jafar Iqbal, powerful batsman, impressed at ECS Barcelona last time around, bagging a pair of man of the match awards.
Khizar Ali crashed 70 off 26 balls including eight sixes in his only innings for Pak Montcada at ECS Barcelona 2020. Will be one to watch in this format and may also chip in with vital wickets.
Awais Ahmed, played for Falco, leading run-scorer (329) and six hitter (27) at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Sarfaraz Ahmed leading wicket-taker for MIN at ECS Barcelona November 2020. Also racked up 137 runs.
Raval Sporting romped to victory over Minhaj in their previous encounter, but Minhaj have added some quality players to their squad, meaning MIN will likely be the team to beat in Group C.
Last time they met: RAS 104(8.2) def MIN 101 (16 Nov 2020)
Match Prediction: MINHAJ (MIN) to edge a close finish.
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MATCH 27 (ECS21.027)
MINHAJ (MIN) v BANGLADESH KINGS (BAK)
0930 GMT | 1030 CET | 1500 IST
MIN Last Five Matches: L L L W W (Avg Score For 113, Avg Score Against 123)
BAK Last Five Matches: W L L L W(Avg Score For 118, Avg Score Against 111)
MINHAJ (MIN)
Captain: Amar Shahzad
Wicketkeeper: Awais Ahmed
Projected Top Four: Awais Ahmed, Jafar Iqbal, Usman Mushtaq, Muhammad Riaz
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Riaz, Amar Shahzad
Spin Options: Ameer Hamzah
MINHAJ Key Players:
Jafar Iqbal, powerful batsman, impressed at ECS Barcelona last time around, bagging a pair of man of the match awards.
Khizar Ali crashed 70 off 26 balls including eight sixes in his only innings for Pak Montcada at ECS Barcelona 2020. Will be one to watch in this format and may also chip in with vital wickets.
Awais Ahmed, played for Falco, leading run-scorer (329) and six hitter (27) at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Sarfaraz Ahmed leading wicket-taker for MIN at ECS Barcelona November 2020. Also racked up 137 runs.
BANGLADESH KINGS (BAK)
Captain: Moshiur Rahman
Wicketkeeper: Muhammad Masood
Projected Top Four: Shakil Mia, Muhammad Masood, Sofiqul Islam, Saqib Muhammad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Shahedur Rahman, Sofiqul Islam
Spin Options: Saqib Muhammad, Hussain Aminul
BANGLADESH KINGS Key Players:
Sofiqul Islam, leading all-rounder, has scored 147 runs and picked up eight wickets for BAK in ECS.
Saqib Muhammad, top wicket taker for BAK with 10 scalps at ECS Barcelona 2020 and scored over 100 runs.
Kamrul Islam Foysol hammered 114 runs at a strike rate of over 223 and grabbed four wickets at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Moshiur Rahman, captain, all time leading wicket taker for BAK, can hit some lusty blows down the order.
With some big names missing from their previous squad, Bangladesh Kings might struggle this time around. In comparison, Minhaj have seriously strengthened by adding Awais Ahmed and Asjad Butt to their side and will be looking to avenge the loss in their previous meeting.
Last time they met: ECS20 | BAK 158 def MIN 116 (11 Nov 2020)
Match Prediction: MINHAJ (MIN) to win handsomely.
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MATCH 28 (ECS21.028)
SKYWAYS (SKY) v RAVAL SPORTING (RAS)
1130 GMT | 1230 CET | 1700 IST
SKY Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
RAS Last Five Matches: L L L W W (Avg Score For 104, Avg Score Against 113)
SKYWAYS (SKY)
Captain: Adeel Shahzad
Wicketkeeper: Sharoon Bashir
Projected Top Four: Rabi Asif, Sharoon Bashir, Zohaib Ashraf, Umer Hayat
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rashid Nazir Sandhu, Adeel Shahzad
Spin Options: Umer Hayat, Shehroz George
SKYWAYS Key Players:
Sharoon Bashir is a good timer of the ball. Loves playing the pull shot.
Zohaib Ashraf, outstanding all-rounder, classy batsman, bowls deadly yorkers.
Adeel Shahzad, opening bowler with great seam position, swings the ball both ways. He can also chip in with vital runs in the middle-order.
Adeel Arif, big hitter, right arm fast bowler with good pace and bounce.
RAVAL SPORTING (RAS)
Captain: Karan Datta
Wicketkeeper: Kishitij Patel
Projected Top Four: Kishitij Patel, Karan Datta, Davinder Singh, Manish Manwani
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rizwan Muhammad, Dawood Masood
Spin Options: Karan Datta, Gaurang Mahyavanshi
RAVAL SPORTING Key Players:
Ishan Patel all-time leading run scorer and wicket taker. The ex-captain set the standard for Raval Sporting with a series of impressive performances with bat and ball in the Autumn.
Manish Manwani, ultra-talented 17-year-old left handed batsman, highly capable of chipping in with useful wickets.
Gaurang Mahyavanshi, talented spinner, has 20 ECS wickets under his belt from just 15 matches.
Kishitij Patel, wicketkeeper batsman, amassed 209 runs at an average of 30 including two fifties.
Skyways face Raval Sporting in their first ever ECS appearance. Can SKY start with a bright result?
Match Prediction: RAVAL SPORTING (RAS) to win convincingly against Skyways.
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MATCH 29 (ECS21.029)
BANGLADESH KINGS (BAK) v SKYWAYS (SKY)
1330 GMT | 1430 CET | 1900 IST
BAK Last Five Matches: W L L L W (Avg Score For 118, Avg Score Against 111)
SKY Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
BANGLADESH KINGS (BAK)
Captain: Moshiur Rahman
Wicketkeeper: Muhammad Masood
Projected Top Four: Shakil Mia, Muhammad Masood, Sofiqul Islam, Saqib Muhammad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Shahedur Rahman, Sofiqul Islam
Spin Options: Saqib Muhammad, Hussain Aminul
BANGLADESH KINGS Key Players:
Sofiqul Islam, leading all-rounder, has scored 147 runs and picked up eight wickets for BAK in ECS.
Saqib Muhammad, top wicket taker for BAK with 10 scalps at ECS Barcelona 2020 and scored over 100 runs.
Kamrul Islam Foysol hammered 114 runs at a strike rate of over 223 and grabbed four wickets at ECS Barcelona 2020.
Moshiur Rahman, captain, all time leading wicket taker for BAK, can hit some lusty blows down the order.
SKYWAYS (SKY)
Captain: Adeel Shahzad
Wicketkeeper: Sharoon Bashir
Projected Top Four: Rabi Asif, Sharoon Bashir, Zohaib Ashraf, Umer Hayat
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rashid Nazir Sandhu, Adeel Shahzad
Spin Options: Umer Hayat, Shehroz George
SKYWAYS Key Players:
Sharoon Bashir is a good timer of the ball. Loves playing the pull shot.
Zohaib Ashraf, outstanding all-rounder, classy batsman, bowls deadly yorkers.
Adeel Shahzad, opening bowler with great seam position, swings the ball both ways. He can also chip in with vital runs in the middle-order.
Adeel Arif, big hitter, right arm fast bowler with good pace and bounce.
Bangladesh Kings and Skyways lock horns in the penultimate game of the day. These teams will have played a game each before this meeting and both will look to end the day on a high note.
Match Prediction: SKYWAYS (SKY) to soar to their first ECS victory.
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MATCH 30 (ECS21.030)
BARCELONA GLADIATORS (BAG) v KHARIAN (KHA)
1530 GMT | 1630 CET | 2100 IST
BAG Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
KHA Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
BARCELONA GLADIATORS (BAG)
Captain: Babar Bashrat
Wicketkeeper: Shahid Nazir
Projected Top Four: Shahid Nazir, Ali Zafar Khan, Arsalan Yousaf, Tanzeer ur Rehman
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ali Raza, Ali Zafar Khan
Spin Options: Nadeem Muhammad, Zahid Akbar
BARCELONA GLADIATORS Key Players:
Shahid Nazir, very stylish yet dangerous batsman, scored 221 runs in October tournament (including a 116* off 34 balls) at a staggering SR of over 240.
Babar Bashrat, hard hitting batsman, doesn't bother keeping the ball down. His ECS strike rate is over 185.
Ali Zafar Khan, all-rounder, a ferocious top order batsman who can roll his arm over to get some breakthroughs when needed.
KHARIAN (KHA)
Captain: Adeel Ahmed
Wicketkeeper: Muhammad Zarar
Projected Top Four: Qaiser Zulfiqar, Muhammad Zarar, Muhammad Umar Waqas, Adeel Ahmed
Projected Opening Bowlers: Adeel Ahmed, Hassan Tanveer
Spin Options: Adil Iqbal, Jehanzaib Asghar
KHARIAN Key Players:
Adeel Ahmed, leading run-scorer for KHA in T10 and will spearhead the attack.
Adil Iqbal, top all-rounder for KHA, loves to play lofted shots straight over the bowler’s head.
Jehanzaib Asghar is the highest wicket taker for KHA across all formats.
Formerly Joves Units, Barcelona Gladiators take on Kharian in the final match of the day. Boasting precious ECS experience, the Gladiators will start as slight favourites.
Match Prediction: BARCELONA GLADIATORS (BAG) to win the clash of the debutants.
Catch all the action live on the European Cricket Network, available on the FanCode platform in the Indian subcontinent and streamed globally on the ECN - European Cricket Network YouTube channel.