Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers, Match 56

Match: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers

Date: 26th January 2021

Place (venue): Melbourne Cricket ground

Tournament: Big Bash League 2020

Format: Twenty20

Caption: Can Sydney Sixers continue their dominance in the league and maintain their top spot against Melbourne Stars?

Key Stats:

• Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars, both have played 15 matches against each other, out of which Sydney Sixers have won 8 matches and Melbourne Stars have won 7 matches.
• Josh Philippe is the current leading scorer of the tournament who has scored 421 runs from 11 games while for Melbourne Stars, Marcus Stoinis is the second leading run-scorer of the tournament who has scored 333 runs from 10 matches.
• In the last 5 encounters, Sydney Sixers have won 4 matches while Melbourne Stars have won just 1 match.

Match Preview

This is the 56th match of the season going to play at MCG on Tuesday between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars. Both teams have started their campaigns well and they are in good form, will like to continue that momentum on Tuesday at MCG also.

Currently, Sydney Sixers have lost just 3 matches from 11 games and they are in 1st place in the points table with 32 points. On the other hand, Melbourne Stars have won 5  matches and they have lost 5 matches out of a total of 11 games and are in 3rd place in the points table. 

This match will be important for both sides as both teams will be looking for booking the top 2 spots in the top 5 in the tournament, which might turn Tuesday’s game into a thriller one.

Melbourne Stars Preview:

Last year’s finalists have started their BBL campaign perfectly by winning the first two games in a row but struggled in the later games and lost 3 games consecutively. But in the last 2 matches against Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades, Stars have performed brilliantly by winning both games in a row.

Marcus Stonis and Glenn Maxwell are looking in good form and helped the team so far in this at different difficult stages. Marcus Stoinis has scored 333 runs from 10 matches and looking very confident to start an inning. In the middle order, the Stars’ batting lineup is not able to convert powerplay scores into big totals on the board.

In the bowling department, Adam Zampa and  Liam Hatcher have performed well and managed to take 31 wickets jointly in 17 matches they have played. Stars have struggled in the death over bowling and conceded more runs in the second half of the tournament after starting well in the tournament.

Overall, Stars are looking good in all fields and they will be looking forward to winning a game against the Sixers on Tuesday.

Key players for MS: 

Melbourne Stars Probable Playing XI:

Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell(c), Nicholas Pooran(wk), Nic Maddinson, Nathon Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Billy Stanlake, Tom O’Connell.

Sydney Sixers Preview:

Sydney Sixers have started their campaign with good form and continued that momentum in the second half of the tournament. They have won 8 matches out of 11 they have played and currently in first place in the points table.

The team is looking well balanced in all fields and have performed according to that so far in the tournament. They have won their last game against Perth Scorchers by 7 wickets.  During the chase, Josh Philippe delivered a superb knock of 84 runs from 52 balls only.

Currently, Josh Philippe is the highest run-getter in the tournament and scored 421 runs so far in 11 games. Also, experienced all-rounders Dan Christian and Carlos Brathwaite have performed well in different conditions for the team. Steve O’Keefe managed to take 14 wickets from his 10 games so far.

The overall team is looking excellent in all fields and they will be looking to continue that at MCG on Tuesday.

Key players for SS: 

Sydney Sixers Probable Playing XI:

Jack Edwards/Justin Avendano, Josh Philippe(wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes(c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Steve O’Keefe, Jackson Bird, Jake Ball, Lloyd Pope.

Venue

The venue for this match is Melbourne Cricket Ground. This picturesque ground having a capacity of 90,000. It is one of the most famous grounds in the world and a premium ground in Australia that conducted many famous International as well as domestic games.

Toss Info

The ground has conducted 13 T20I games and offers an advantage to batsmen. The pitch is easy while chasing the target as from 13 games, the team who bowled first won 7 matches on this ground. It will be good for the team to win the toss and choose to ball first on this ground.

Pitch and Weather Report

The weather is mostly cloudy on match day and there are just 10-15% chances of precipitation. The maximum and minimum temperature of the ground will be in the range of 26°C-15°C respectively.

Our Prediction

By looking at both teams and their current form, Sydney Sixers are looking like a perfect unit in front of the Melbourne Stars. In the batting and bowling unit, Sixers have a slight edge over Stars. Sixers also have a good and attacking batting lineup and they will be looking forward to focusing on that to fix their first match in the points table before playing the knockout stage.

We predict that the Sydney Sixers will defeat Melbourne Stars.

Disclaimer: Our match previews are fully researched but as per the nature of the game, anything is possible on the match day. Also, both teams, Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars have a couple of matches before this match, so the statistical data will going to change. You are advised to decide for yourself when betting on a team. Thanks.