Match Details
Date: 25 January 2023
Time: 1:45 PM IST
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Live Scores: SportsTiger App
Preview
The final group stage match of Big Bash League (BBL) will see Melbourne Stars hosting Sydney Thunder on Wednesday, January 25. The match will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Stars had a horror run this season and the side will be hoping to bow out of the tournament with a win. Meanwhile, Thunder will aiming for a big win to have a chance to find a place in top 4. The side is 5th on points table but have worse NRR than Strikers and Hurricanes.
Pitch Report
The pitch is expected to offer some bounce and movement early on in the contest. Teams chasing here have an upper hand on this surface. The skipper winning the toss may opt to field first.
Team Analysis
Melbourne Stars
The Stars terribly missed Glenn Maxwell this season. They managed to win just 3 matches in 13 matches they played and are confirmed to finish at the bottom irrespective of the result in this game. The Adma Zampa-led side will be hoping to sign off the tournament with a win. However, the side is coming in this game with 3 back-to-back losses and a win against a desperate Thunder looks tough.
SportsTiger Playing XI of Melbourne Stars
Joe Clarke (wk), Thomas Rogers, Campbell Kellaway, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Nick Larkin, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Luke Wood, Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa (c).
Sydney Thunder
The Chris Green-led side are currently 5th on points table with 6 wins and 7 losses. The side has a outside chance to make it to knockout stages if they register a big win against Stars. Thunder are 5th on points table but have worse NRR than Strikers and Hurricanes. A win here won't guarantee a place in final 4 as the winner of Strikers vs Hurricanes will take the spot if Thunder failed to win by a big margin.
SportsTiger Playing XI of Sydney Thunder
Matthew Gilkes (wk), David Warner, Blake Nikitaras, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Joel Davies, Chris Green (c), Gurinder Sandhu, Usman Qadir.
Match Prediction
Who will win?
With the run of form both teams are in, it difficult to pick the favourites. However, we are picking Thunder to win the game as the side have a knockout place in line.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.