Glenrothes 1st XI mirrored the 2nd XI approach to the start of their league fixtures in the Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 1, chasing down to a tricky total to start with a win.

Largo won the toss and batted first, getting off to a fast start through openers Paul Cuisick and Jayjit Das. It was to be teenager Ben Krzyzanowski coming on a second change bowler, having Das caught by Adeel Ali for 40 from 32 balls and Largo 71 for 1 in the 12th over.

It was to be Krzyzanowski returning from a bowling break to make the second breakthrough, with the catch this time taken by Muhammad Tayyiub - 113 for two in the 26th over.

The Largo middle order though is one of the strongest around, and all batters made good starts. Whilst the Glens fielding was sub-par credit went to the bowlers for sticking at their task, with Tayyiub dismissing Cuisick for an excellent 59, Steve Rowley retiring injured after taking a hit from a ball and then skipper Qasim Ahmad upping the fielding game with a direct-hit run out to dismiss big-hitting Ben Coates.

Krzyzanowski (3 for 38 from 9) was to return for his third bowling spell, and again had the same effect as Hughes Gillin was caught by Ahmad for 35. One further wicket to Mayank Sautiyal helped restrict Largo to 222 for 6 from their 45 overs.

In reply, Tayyiub was trapped LBW by Cameron Merrington but from there Glens took control - fellow opener Sufyan Ahmed playing one of his typical destructive innings, supported by Urvish Patel playing a well controlled innings.

With his century in sight, Ahmed looked to hit another half-tracker from the Largo bowlers out of the ground but a slight mishit meant the ball instead went to straight to Das at deep square leg for a well taken catch. Ahmed dismissed for 89 and Glenrothes 141 for 2 in the 21st over, requiring another 72 runs for the win in 24 overs.

Though just like the 2nd XI in their opening league fixture taking place up the road in Glenrothes, the 1st XI played the "one brings two" game too regularly and saw wickets fall regularly.

Throughout this period, Patel was playing an excellent a no-chances innings interspersed with some glorious shots. He was to find the perfect batting partner in Sautiyal coming in at a very low number nine, as he looked to seize the game and hit any loose balls over the boundary.

But big-hitting also brings chances and Largo will have felt they were still in the game and the chance of a win - but in almost the blink of an eye, Sautiyal hit 20 runs in five balls and the winning total was passed - Patel finishing on an excellent 70* and Sautiyal 31*.

An excellent start to the league campaign for Glenrothes, though Largo will without doubt bounce back as they demonstrated their strength throughout.