After a thrilling opening weekend the action continues, with two great games lined up in the #PLT20 tournament! Read on to learn more about the upcoming matches:

Game 3 – KCC vs HKCC at HKCC

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Co-written with Yaqzaan Rajan

Both teams have started off the tournament by winning their opening games. KCC sits at the top of the table due to their superior Net Run Rate as they beat USRC courtesy a brilliant all-round performance by Aizaz Khan, the national team captain who also bagged the man of the match award for his four-fer combined with being the joint 2nd highest individual run scorer.

HKCC also wasted no time to get onto the winning path as the new additions to their team seemed to have gelled together well with the mainstays of HKCC. Martin Coetzee stole the show with his 131 not out on his Premier league debut while Charlie Wallis, who has been serving HKCC for quite some time, bowled very well whenever he was brought on and was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers.

Players to watch out for:

Kinchit Shah (HKCC): Kinchit is used as a wicket taking option by his team and past records suggest that he is not afraid to bowl at any stage of the innings be it the powerplay or the death overs. Not to forget, he bats in the Top 3 and looked good for his 23 off 18 balls in the first match too.

Rory Cox (KCC): The southpaw’s 16 off 10 balls vs USRC is his lowest score out of 4 innings at Premier League level so far. He has been promoted up to number 3 this season, and it will be interesting to see how he goes for the remainder of this tournament.

Luke Jones (HKCC): The former MCC player was having a very decent outing with 2 wickets for 16 runs before Ehsan Khan decided to blast him for 30 runs in his third over. Given that his batting skills cannot be ignored either and the home ground advantage, Luke might be a handy player in this match.

Dan Pascoe (KCC): The Oxford PhD, CityU professor and former first-class cricketer has been a phenomenal performer in HK Club Cricket for KCC for quite some time now. His left-arm spin has fetched him 26 wickets in 18 PLT20 games, with an economy of just 5.31. His 3 overs against USRC cost him just 10 runs and yielded him the wicket of the dangerous Awais Mohammad Snr. Definitely one to keep an eye on when he comes up against the HKCC batting.

Stats:

• Jamie Atkinson is 10 runs short of completing 1500 Premier League runs. Stats show that he also carries his bat in 16% of all his innings. HKCC should look to get his wicket as early as possible.
• Coetzee came into this game with a reputation of hitting well down the ground. However, 73% of his runs during his century came at the shorter square boundaries, which not only reflects the lengths DLSW bowled to him, but also shows that he is just as capable playing on the backfoot. It will be a challenge for the KCC bowlers to find the right length to him.
• Charlie Wallis had a lot of success bowling quick on the short and good lengths, as DLSW failed to score any runs down the ground against him. KCC’s batsmen will need to find a way to hit him off his lengths early.

16 year old offspinner Ahan Trivedi had a spectacular PLT20 debut, taking 2 wickets in the only 2 balls he bowled against USRC! Never has a bowler taken 2 wickets in their first 2 balls on Premier League debut. Not only has Ahan made his history, but he enters this game with a chance to make that into a hattrick the first ball he bowls. Another fun fact is that he has already dismissed Martin Coetzee once this season – in a Sunday Elite League game between KCC Infidels and HKCC Scorpions. It will be interesting to see if his captain will give him the ball early this time around.

All stats used for this article can be found via the Cricket Hong Kong App, powered by CricHeroes! Available now for download on the Play Store and App Store!