Madrid United Cricket Club won the inaugural Dream11 European Cricket Series held at Sporting Alfas Cricket Club from 2-6 March 2020 in Alicante, Spain.

Dream11 European Cricket Series - Performance Analysis of Madrid United CC Part 1

Dream11 European Cricket Series is a six-team tournament played between European club teams in numerous cities across Europe.

Madrid United CC is a cricket club based in Spain’s capital, captained by Ittfaq Ahmed. Madrid United finished second in the points table, winning three games out of five in the round robin league format to earn a semi-final spot. Madrid United set up a date with Pinatar Pirates in the Final by beating Levante CC in the semi-final clash by 15 runs.

Here’s the first look at a two-part analysis of their magical journey towards winning the first-ever Dream11 European Cricket Series tournament.

Batting Performance

Runs Scoring Ability

Madrid United amassed a total of 748 runs from seven games - only behind Levante CC in runs scored. Madrid United scored these runs at a run-rate of 11.72. Only the hosts Sporting Alfas CC scored at a better run-rate, at a rollicking run-rate of 12.53.

 

Madrid United batsmen chipped in with a host quick 20+ scores, three of them going on to complete half centuries.

 

Hitting Ability

When it comes to T10 format, merely scoring runs isn’t enough. Scoring them in double quick time becomes a necessity if you are to win games. Madrid United CC scored their runs at a strike rate of over 195 which is fantastic. No wonder the top four teams in terms of runs scored and strike rate made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Hitting ability can be judged based on the number of fours and sixes hit because these boundaries helps to increase the strike rate of a team or a batsman. Madrid United hit 45 sixes and 59 fours in the tournament, scoring 67.65% of their runs in boundaries, more than any other team in the tournament in terms of boundary percentage. Their conversion rate of balls to boundaries was 27%. Again, Sporting Alfas and Levante had slightly better conversion rate with 29.86% and 27.34% respectively.

 

Runs Scored in Powerplay

To score quick runs, teams must capitalize on the first three overs of the innings - the powerplay overs. Madrid United’s batsmen didn’t let this opportunity of scoring runs slip, scoring the second highest powerplay runs in the tournament. The 219 powerplay runs scored equal almost 30% of total runs scored in the tournament - second only to Sporting Alfas who scored a staggering 37.67% of their runs during the same period.

 

Batting under pressure

Under pressure, Madrid United’s batsmen were plenty good enough to get them over the line – winning three from four games chasing - including a tie against Levante CC. Needing 17 runs from the final over, wicket-keeper batsman Waqar Zafar scored 16 runs, including a four and a six. The match progressed to the very first Golden Ball finish in the history of European Cricket, when Zafar launched another boundary to win the match for Madrid United.

Holding their nerve in crunch situations and coming out on top in a few close encounters did their confidence a world of good on their way to becoming the Dream11 European Cricket Series Alicante champions.