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The Melbourne Stars will lock horns with the Sydney Thunders in the first match of the BBL double-header Saturday. The second match will see Melbourne Renegades take on Perth Scorchers at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The Stars are scheduled to play the Brisbane Heat on Friday and will be taking the field in less than 24 hours to face the Thunder’s side, looks like a busy weekend for the fans and players of the 2019 runners-up.

Melbourne Stars finished at top of the table at the end of the league stages of the Big Bash League 2019-20 and will be hoping they can perform the same way this season. Sydney Thunder on the other side had a mediocre season finishing 5th on the table, giving away Hobart Hurricanes the play-offs spot owing to a narrow difference in net run-rate.

It will be exciting to see the teams clash against each other as both the franchises consist of some big names- Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Hales, and Usman Khawaja. Glenn Maxwell and Co. will be hoping they can start their campaign with the winning momentum against Brisbane Heat and continue that into this encounter.

Can the Melbourne Stars continue from they left the season? Or will Callum Ferguson and Co. prove to be tough to get past?

Match Toss Time: 15:35 Local (10:05 IST)

Match Start Time: 16:05 Local (10:35 IST)

Match Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra

Weather Report

The conditions posses no threat to the game as clear skies are expected throughout the day. The temperature is expected to hover in the range of 21-16 degrees Celsius and the humidity at the peak is anticipated to touch the 49 percent mark.

Pitch

The same venue which hosts the clash between Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat is to be used for this match as well. The pitch as we know is an ideal strip for the batsmen and bowlers seldom find anything in favor of them and have relied on the mistimed shots for wickets. The team winning the toss should be looking to chase.

Team News

The Melbourne Stars are undoubtedly one of the strongest squads in the tournament with the likes of players like Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. They also have a good bowling line-up, but the availability of Adam Zampa is still doubtful owing to the International duty he might be assigned. The death bowling has been a concern in the last seasons and hopefully, they can rectify that this time around.

Sydney Thunders justifying their name have a thundering opening pair in form of English batsman Alex Hales and Aussie Usman Khawaja. The pair could prove deadly if in good touch. They seem to have a well-balanced side as they have very talented bowlers in their bowling line-up- Daniels Sams, who was the highest wicket-taker in the last season would be looking to better his tally.

Probable Playing Xl

Melbourne Stars (MS): Glen Maxwell (C), Marcus Stoinis, Andre Fletcher, Nicolas Pooran(WK), Ben Dunk, Hilton Cartwright, Nick Larkin/Clint Hinchliffe, Dilbar Hussain, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Sydney Thunders (ST): Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (C), Alex Ross, Baxter Holt (wk), Ben Cutting, Arjun Nair, Daniel Sams, Chris Tremain, Chris Green, Adam Milne

MS vs ST Fantasy Team

MS vs ST Fantasy Team BBL
Cricwizz Fantasy Team

Baxter Holt, Nicholas Pooran, Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Ben Dunk, Ben Cutting, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Green, Billy Stanlake, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Captain Picks: Glenn Maxwell (MS), Usman Khawaja (ST)

Glenn Maxwell BBL
Glenn Maxwell (MS)

Vice-captain Picks: Ben Cutting (ST), Ben Dunk (MS)

Ben Cutting BBL
Ben Cutting (ST)

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