Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder, Big Bash League 2020-21, Today Match Prediction 07 Jan 2021

hbh vs syt Match Prediction & Analysis

The No.2 and No.3 ranked teams of the current Big Bash League will clash this Thursday in what should be a fascinating contest. Sydney Thunder has easily been one of the better teams of this season and is at the 2nd place on the table with 5 wins and 2 losses. Hobart Hurricanes haven’t been far behind and are 3rd on the table with 5 wins and 3 losses. Both the teams are coming off a defeat in their last games and would be eager to get back into winning form. It will be interesting to see who blinks first.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Hobart Hurricanes Preview

Hobart Hurricanes has had a good season so far, but they would have liked to have been a little more consistent. They are coming off a 10-run loss in their last game against the Melbourne Stars which would have really hurt them. Chasing a target of 184, the Hurricanes managed 173-6 courtesy of a special 91 off 58 balls by opener Ben McDermott. Unfortunately, others couldn’t finish the job. 

D Arcy Short has been off-color and his lack of form is a concern. Dawid Malan, however, has been in good touch and his knock of 75 against Melbourne Stars showed that. Colin Ingram will have to be a little more assertive in the middle and Peter Handscomb, who has produced some amazing cameos down the order, will be eager to make a mark again.

There really aren’t too many issues with Hobart’s bowling. In Riley Meredith and Scott Boland, they have two dependable seamers, even though Boland was expensive in the last game. Spinner Johan Botha has shown how valuable he can be with his experience while Sandeep Lamichhane continues to impress. Nathan Ellis has shown a good knack for picking up wickets regularly too. Expect this bowling unit to deliver in this game.

Hobart Hurricanes Predicted Playing XI:

Ben McDermott (wk), D Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane

Hobart Hurricanes Actual Playing XI:

Riley Meredith, Colin Ingram, Sandeep Lamichhane, Scott Boland, Nathan Ellis, Tim David, D'Arcy Short, Peter Handscomb, Johan Botha, Dawid Malan, Ben McDermott

Sydney Thunder Preview

After winning 5 games in a row, Sydney Thunder’s amazing streak was finally broken in the last game when they were beaten by 5 wickets by Brisbane Heat. After posting 174-8 on the board, Sydney couldn’t stop Brisbane from chasing the target down comfortably with 5 balls to spare. However, they won’t be too disheartened with this performance. Their batting unit continued their good form and the likes of Alex Hales (46 off 56 balls), Sam Billings (22 off 16 balls), Daniel Sams (97 off 18 balls), and Ben Cutting (24 off 15 balls) were all in good touch. With Usman Khawaja and skipper Callum Ferguson also in the lineup, this Sydney batting will always pose a threat.

Their bowling, however, lacked bite on a good batting surface. Adam Milne was expensive again and so was Nathan McAndrew. And while spinner Tanveer Sangha did pick up 3 wickets, he went for 40 runs in just 3.1 overs. Only Chris Green did an economical job and this does raise some concerns about their bowling unit if the pitch favors batsmen again.
 

Sydney Thunder Predicted Playing XI:

Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Oliver Davies, Ben Cutting, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain

Sydney Thunder Actual Playing XI:

Alex Hales, Ben Cutting, Sam Billings, Nathan John McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Christopher Green, Callum Ferguson, Adam Milne, Usman Khawaja, Tanveer Sangha, Alex Ross

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at Perth Stadium is likely to be bouncy and hard for the most part of the game. The ball will come on nicely to the batsmen in the first half while seamers should get enough purchase to trouble the batters. Spinners should enjoy the bounce here.

The weather forecast for the day of the game is hot and sunny. We should hence have a full game.
 

Venue Details

The Perth Stadium, also known as the Optus Stadium, has hosted just one game so far in this season of the Big Bash League – between Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades. Perth Scorchers posted a dominant 185-3 after being put in to bat and then bundled out the opposition for just 89. The team batting first in this match will look to score at least 170-180 to feel safe.
 

Toss: To Bat

The team winning the toss would look to bat first on this wicket. As we saw in the last game, batting first and setting a big total might be the way to go here.