Defending champions, Sydney-S will face Perth in the qualifier game of Australia T20 League 2020-21. The winner of this game will qualify for the final and the losing side will play one more game in Challenger.
Match Timings: Dec 30, 1:45 PM IST
Team Preview
Australia T20 League 2020-21 will get its first finalist on Saturday when top-two sides of the season, Perth and Sydney-S lock horns in Canberra. Defending champions are just two wins away to repeat the title glory for the successive year. Sydney-S ended the campaign with the most wins in the tournament and they finished top of the table after the 5-wickets triumph over Melbourne-S. Melbourne posted 177 on board, courtesy of Maxwell’s 66. Despite losing two early wickets, Sydney-S took the game home with five wickets in hand. Daniel Christian played another match-winning knock to finish the game on the penultimate ball. At one stage, they were struggling at 103/5 in 13 overs, and scoring 75 runs in the last seven wasn’t an easy task but Christian scored 49 off just 23 balls to earn all four points.
In the last edition, Sydney-S easily crossed the qualifier hurdle when they beat Melbourne-S and one more time, they look settled to enter into the final. Josh Philippe is a good talent and has been a consistent batsman at top-order. James Vince and Daniel Hughes had also played some good innings in league-stage. They have two finest all-rounders Moises Henriques and Daniel Christian who can take the game away from the opposition from any tough situation. Christian did it twice in the league-stage. Henriques played just three games but looked consistent from the first game. They have depth in batting which is a big strength of this side. They have the loopholes in its bowling but Christian and Brathwaite are the good options as the sixth bowlers. Sydney have variety in their bowling and Henriques knows how to tackle his bowling attack. Sean Abbott is also back in the squad and he will be a key figure with the new ball.
Meanwhile, 4-times winner Perth has stormed into the top two with a dominant display in the league-stage. After earning just two points from the first three games, Perth bounced back remarkably and ended the league-stage campaign on the second spot. In the last affair, Perth suffered a 6-runs defeat against Brisbane. Bowlers had an off day as Brisbane posted 181 on board. Perth saw some late fight from Mitch Marsh who smashed 54 off just 26 balls The middle-overs collapse haunted them till the end.
Perth has been a consistent side and they have the match-winners like Jason Roy, Colin Munro, and Mitchell Marsh. Munro is a standout performer of this season with scoring 411 runs at an average of 34.25. The English opening duo has been a pillar of this side and both have been the consistent players in the opening slot. Ashton Turner used his bowlers smartly and his aggressive approach helped Perth to reach this spot. Both sides met twice in the league stage and both sides have one win each. Perth was the winner in the most recent clash when they bowled out Sydney-S on 97 to claim a huge 86 runs victory.
Pitch Report
Manuka Oval is a decent T20 surface and we expect some extra help for the pacers. Batting would be tricky while chasing. A score above 160 would be a competitive total.
Possible XI
Perth-S
Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed
Sydney-S
Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Steve OKeefe, Jake Ball
Key Players
Perth-S
Colin Munro
Season so far – M: 13, Runs: 411, Avg: 34.25
Jason Roy
Season so far – M: 11, Runs: 352, Avg: 35.20
Sydney-S
Josh Philippe
Season so far – M: 14, Runs: 454, Avg: 32.42
Daniel Christian
Season so far – M: 13, Runs: 252, Wickets: 13
