Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades, Big Bash League 2020-21, Today Match Prediction 08 Jan 2021

ads vs mlr Match Prediction & Analysis

Adelaide Strikers have had a topsy-turvy season so far; they have shown patches of good form before suddenly slipping badly. Currently, they are at the 4th spot on the points table with 4 wins and 4 losses. They are looking for some consistency and a good win might help them get going. Adelaide will get that opportunity when they square-off against the bottom-placed Melbourne Renegades again whom they just beat in their previous match. With 7 losses and 1 win, the Renegades have been relegated to the last place and it seems as if the season has already slipped away from them. It will now take something special from them to get out of this mess.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Adelaide Strikers Preview

Adelaide Strikers would like to have a bit more consistency going in their campaign. They might not have a star-studded side, but they do have enough quality players that can ensure they make the last 4. What will help is that they beat Melbourne Renegades comprehensively in their last match and are facing them again. After posting a solid 171-5 on batting first, the Strikers restricted the Renegades to just 111 runs to win by 60 runs.

The stars of this victory were Ryan Gibson (43 off 31 balls) and Jake Weatherald whose stunning 51 off 25 balls down the order made all the difference. Opener Matt Renshaw, too, has looked solid at the top and captain Alex Carey and Jonathan Wells appear to be in fine nice too.

Adelaide’s bowling is pretty good. In Peter Siddle, they have an experienced seamer at the start who is consistently delivering. Then there’s Wes Agar who is the leading wicket-taker of the season so far with 14 wickets and the ever-reliable Rashid Khan who is sure to have an impact in the middle overs. These three have formed the mainstay of Adelaide’s bowling this season and will be a handful for the Renegades. 

Adelaide Strikers Predicted Playing XI:

Philip Salt, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (c & wk), Jonathan Wells, Jake Weatherald, Ryan Gibson, Rashid Khan, Danny Briggs, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle, Harry Conway

Adelaide Strikers Actual Playing XI:

Harry Conway, Philip Salt, Matt Renshaw, Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Jake Weatherald, Danny Briggs, Peter Siddle, Rashid Khan, Ryan Gibson, JW Wells

Melbourne Renegades Preview

Who would have thought that after starting the season with a superb victory, the Melbourne Renegades would end up at the bottom of the table at the halfway point in the tournament? The Renegades have now lost 7 games in a row. It isn’t that they are losing games; they are suffering heavy defeats. After losing by 145 runs and 129 runs earlier in the season, the Renegades endured losses by 96 runs and 60 runs in their last two respective games. They are coming off a loss against Adelaide Strikers who they will be facing again next. To make matters worse, the team will be without the services of Shaun Marsh, their highest run-getter, along with Rilee Rossouw in this game.

The onus will now be on skipper Aaron Finch to lead from the front and others like Mackenzie Harvey and Sam Harper have to step up as well. On the bowling side, Kane Richardson has been their shining star with 11 wickets so far along with spinners Peter Hatzoglou and Imad Wasim who have consistently taken wickets.

The others in the team have largely disappointing and look out of sorts. It remains to be seen if they find form anytime soon.
 

Melbourne Renegades Predicted Playing XI:

Aaron Finch (c), Sam Harper (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Beau Webster, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim, Jack Prestwidge, Josh Lalor, Noor Ahmad, Kane Richardson

Melbourne Renegades Actual Playing XI:

Aaron Finch, Jack Prestwidge, Sam Harper, Noor Ahmad, Mackenzie Harvey, SI Wasim, KW Richardson, Mohammad Nabi, Jake Fraser McGurk, Peter Hatzoglou, BJ Webster

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Adelaide Oval is known to be quite an even surface. It’s good for batsmen when it’s hard at the start but also offers decent purchase to the seam bowlers and spinners. The pitch does tend to get a little slower in the second half of the game and bowlers might enjoy that phase more.

The weather on the day of the game is expected to be clear and warm. A full game should happen.
 

Venue Details

The Adelaide Oval is a historic venue and has hosted 3 games so far in the Big Bash League 2020-21. In the previous game here, the Adelaide Strikers posted 171-5 after batting first – the highest total of the season on this venue. Hence, the team batting first in this game will be looking to get a total in the range of 160-170.

Toss: To Bat

The team winning the toss is likely to bat first as the strategy of posting a healthy total and then crushing the opposition has worked well on this venue.