Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey
BBL 10 Match 3: STA vs THU Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | MS vs ST Dream11 Prediction Today | Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder Key Players | Manuka Oval Pitch Report
Melbourne Stars clash with the Sydney Thunder in the first match of the double-header Saturday in the Big Bash League. While the Stars will be playing their 2nd game in as many days, their opponents Thunder will be playing their opening game of the 8-team tourney.
The Stars are one of the strongest teams in the BBL 10 and they did prove that on Friday as they faced the Brisbane Heat and tamed them winning the match by six wickets and 17 balls to spare. The bowling line-up of the Melbourne-based side bowled out the Lynn-led side for a paltry total of 125 as none of the batsmen could get going with 114 being the highest strike rate of the innings.
Among the bowlers, Nathan Coulter-Nile with 4 wickets in his spell, while conceding just 10 runs, was the pick of the bowlers. The pacer inflicted a couple of run-outs as well as he walked away with the player of the match award.
During the chase, the Stars did struggle at one point as they were reduced to 34-3 at one stage with Dunk, Stoinis and Fletcher not being among the runs. But, Maxwell along with Cartwright made sure they reached the target safely and got an important win to start the tournament. They will hope that Maxwell continues his good form and the other batters step up when they take the field in the afternoon game.
On the other hand, the Thunder side will be playing their first match of the season. The Thunder will have the advantage of playing a near full strength side and they will hope to take advantage of the same especially in the first few games when most of the teams will be fielding depleted sides, due to quarantine regulations and national duties.
Sydney Thunder will bank on their strength as they have got a solid Top 5 with Callum Ferguson, Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales and Alex Ross a part of the line-up. They will be hoping that they post a high score in most games.
While the lack of depth in the bowling will worry the team management, they will hope that the spinner Green steps up as well. Stars played the BBL 05 champions thrice last season, winning all the matches.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
- Nathan Coulter-Nile picked 2 out of the top 3 wickets as it didn’t allow the Heat to gather any momentum post the powerplay. The Stars will expect him to play the same role against the Thunder.
- Glenn Maxwell scored a 26-ball 46 in the previous game and his performance will be crucial to the hopes of the Stars once again. He was also in excellent form for Australia.
- Marcus Stoinis was dismissed for a two-ball duck but Stars will expect him to come good as his form is key to the Stars performance. Stoinis scored 83 in his last innings vs Thunder.
- Nick Larkin has a superb record for Stars against Thunder, with 223 runs at an average of 111.50. Last season, Larkin scored 65 (45), 6 (4) and 83* (49) vs Thunder.
- Adam Zampa has the most wickets in Stars-Thunder matches (11). He took a total of four wickets in three games vs Thunder in BBL 09.
Sydney Thunder
- Daniel Sams took 30 wickets in BBL 09 – the most of any bowler.
- Alex Hales hit 59 boundaries and 23 maximums in the BBL 09 and his boundary-hitting capability will be a major strength of the Thunder in the upcoming season. He was the second-highest run-scorer last season (576), behind Stoinis’ 705.
- Adam Milne will be a prospect with the new ball for the Callum Ferguson-led side. He has a career economy rate of 7.6 in the shortest format and that makes him one of the players to watch out for in the side.
- Ben Cutting has moved to the Thunder after an impressive season with the Heat side. In the five matches that Cutting played in BBL 09, he had a strike rate of 206 in the death overs.
Stats and Facts
- Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder have a close record as the Stars have won 7 games while the Thunder has won 6 games.
- However, Stars have won their last 4 matches against the Thunder including the Challenger Final last season as Stoinis and Larkin scored 83 runs each.
Possible Playing 11s
Sydney Thunder are one of the few sides who aren’t missing many players throughout their tournament with none of the players in the Australian national duty. Sam Billings is the only player who will be arriving late as he serves his quarantine period post the England-South Africa series.
Probable Playing XI: 1. Alex Hales, 2. Usman Khawaja, 3. Callum Ferguson (c), 4. Matt Gilkes (wk), 5. Alex Ross, 6. Ben Cutting, 7. Daniel Sams, 8. Chris Green, 9. Adam Milne, 10. Chris Tremain, 11. Jono Cook
Melbourne Stars: Melbourne Stars are unlikely to make any changes to the line-up which took the field on Friday unless there any injury concerns.
Probable Playing XI: 1. Marcus Stoinis, 2. Andre Fletcher, 3. Hilton Cartwright, 4. Nick Larkin, 5. Glenn Maxwell (c), 6. Ben Dunk (wk), 7. Nathan Coulter-Nile, 8. Dilbar Hussain, 9. Clint Hinchliffe, 10. Adam Zampa, 11. Billy Stanlake
Manuka Oval Canberra Pitch Report
Brisbane Heat really struggled on this pitch yesterday evening, scoring just 125. However, the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright showed that Manuka Oval is still a decent batting pitch. A partly cloudy day with a top of 21 degrees is forecast.
Dream11 Prediction
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Match Prediction
Melbourne Stars have a good recent record against the Thunder, and there is a good chance that this will continue here. Thunder, though, have the talent to cause problems, particularly if their top order fires.
Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.
