Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Renegades Match 14 BBL 2020
Match Preview and Odds
After a three-day Christmas break, the BBL 10 resumes and returns to action with a double header on Boxing Day. In the first game of the day and 14th game of the season, Sydney Thunder take on the Melbourne Renegades at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. These two teams have had a contrasting run in this tournament so far.
Sydney Thunder have had a good start to the 2020-21 edition of the BBL, losing one and winning two from their first three games. They lost their first game against Melbourne Stars where they failed to hunt down 170 and fell 22 runs short. However, since that loss, they have aced two chases and have looked solid. It was Daniel Sams’ blitz that propelled them to hunt down 179 with seven balls to spare. Meanwhile, in their last game, they chased 153 in the final over but it was a lot more comfortable than what the scorecard looks. Thus, Sydney Thunder are looking well-settled and in decent shape early in the tournament.
On the other hand, Melbourne Renegades have had a pretty indifferent start. They thrashed the Perth Scorchers in their opening game and it did seem they might have well changed their wretched fortunes from last season. However, everything seems to have gone back to square one as they have now lost two back to back games. Moreover, both of those losses have been big ones. They were shot out for just 60 chasing 206 against Sydney Sixers before Hobart Hurricanes strolled through in their chase of 158 against the Renegades, winning with 14 balls to spare.
Despite the inconsistent form, Melbourne Renegades have the better odds of winning this game against Sydney Thunder. One of the prime reasons for that is the head to head record between these two sides which is overwhelmingly in favour of Melbourne Renegades. The difference isn’t huge though as Sydney Thunder are placed at 1.998 to win this game while Melbourne Renegades are placed at 1.808.
Match Predictions
The head to head record may be heavily stacked in favour of Melbourne Renegades but Sydney Thunder are looking in good form. Thus, it is expected to be a tight contest as Aaron Finch is expected to be back for this game for Melbourne Renegades. On form, Sydney Thunder may just pip Melbourne Renegades in this contest.
Summary
As mentioned earlier, the head to head record is stacked in favour of Melbourne Renegades massively. In the 11 games that these two sides have played, Melbourne Renegades have won nine games while Sydney Thunder have won just two, first of which came in the 2013-14 season while the second came in the last season.
| Year | Matches Played | Melbourne Renegades | Sydney Thunder |
| 2011-12 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013-14 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014-15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019-20 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 9 | 2 |
