Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, Big Bash League 2018/19, Today Match Prediction 05 Jan 2019

mls vs syt Match Prediction & Analysis

Sydney Thunder will be looking to climb up the league table when they will meet Melbourne Stars in the 20st match of the Big Bash League (BBL) in Queensland on Wednesday. 

Both teams clashed earlier this season where Sydney Thunder came out on top and were the better side in a rain-curtailed game played in Manuka Oval, Canberra.

Sydney Thunder managed to eke out a one-run win over Perth Scorchers in the previous game played in Sydney on Wednesday.

Melbourne Stars will be desperate to continue their winning momentum after beat city rivals Melbourne Renegades in the previous game played at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Melbourne Stars Preview

Melbourne Stars produced a clinical performance with bat and ball to beat city rivals Melbourne Renegades in a game played on Tuesday. Captain Glenn Maxwell will be hoping that his side can continue their winning streak in this game as well.

Peter Handscomb will not be available for this game after his call-up to the national side for the final game of the Test series in Sydney.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis was promoted to open the innings and he certainly delivered the goods with the bat. Stoinis produced unbeaten 78 runs off 49 balls with the help of four sixes. Ben Dunk also played well at the top of the innings and scored a brisk 32 runs to help Stars get off to decent start in the chase.

In the batting department, the team will be depending on in-form Marcus Stoinis, who is franchise’s leading run-scorer with 112 runs in 4 matches at an average of 56.

In the bowling department, the focus will be once again on the likes of Sandeep Lamichhane, Dwayne Bravo and Adam Zampa to provide crucial breakthroughs for the team. 

Melbourne Stars Predicted Playing XI:

Glenn Maxwell (captain), Nick Larkin, Jonathan Merlo, Marcus Stoinis, Seb Gotch (wk), Ben Dunk, Evan Gulbis, Scott Boland, Dwayne Bravo, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Lamichhane.

Sydney Thunder Preview

Shane Watson led-side will be looking to continue their good form when they face Melbourne Stars in Queensland.

In the batting department, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler, who is the leading run-getter so far this season with 250 runs in five matches at an average of 50. Buttler once again top-scored for Sydney Thunder in the game played against Perth Scorchers in Sydney Showground Stadium.

The return of form of experienced batsman Callum Ferguson turned out to be a real bonus for the side moving forward, as he struck a well-composed 42 runs off 30 balls with the help of five fours. Captain Shane Watson will be desperate to get back to form after another low score against Perth Scorchers.

In the bowling department, the team is largely dependent on the spin trio of Jonathan Cook, Fawad Ahmad and Chris Green to provide crucial breakthroughs in this game.

Sydney Thunder Predicted Playing XI:

Shane Watson (captain), Callum Ferguson, Daniel Sams, Jonathan Cook, Jason Sangha, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Fawad Ahmad, Chris Green, Sam Rainbird, Gurinder Sandhu.

Weather Conditions

The pitch prepared for this game will be good for batting. The weather forecast for Tuesday is mostly sunny.

Venue

The Carrara Oval has hosted a lot of Big Bash League games this season. The last game played at the venue was between Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers. The average score at the venue is around 150 runs

Toss: To Bowl

The side that wins the toss would like to bowl first and restrict the opposition to a modest total. It might better to chase down the runs at this venue.