Adelaide will kick start its Australia T20 Campaign with an afternoon clash against Hobart. Hobart defeated the defending champions in the season-opener by 16 runs.
Match Timings: Dec 13, 8:40 AM IST
Team Preview
With the heartbreak at the home-ground last season, Adelaide will start fresh in Australia T20 League 2020-21 against Hobart. Adelaide finished third in the previous edition but lost to Sydney-T in the knockout stage dramatically. They are a balanced side with a deep batting lineup and a quality batting unit. The captain Travis Head will be unavailable for half of the tournament due to Test duty. Michael Neser is also out of the main squad, but he may join the eleven later. They are also going to miss wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey for the first two matches. Rashid Khan has arrived in Australia, and he will play the first match on Sunday. With Rashid in spin, Adelaide has boosted the bowling attack.
They signed Matt Renshaw from Brisbane and Daniel Worrall from Melbourne-S in place of Billy Stanlake and Nick Winter. English batsman Phil Salt will be available for the entire season, and he will play in the top-order. Harry Nielsen will replace Alex Carey for the first two matches, and Jonathan Wells will play the sheet anchor in middle-order. Peter Siddle can lead the side on Sunday for Adelaide.
Meanwhile, Hobart held the nerve in the season opener against the defending champions. After losing both openers on duck, Hobart’s start was pretty poor. Colin Ingram constructed the innings in middle-overs, scoring 42-balls 55. Tim David, the new signing, provided the acceleration in death-overs by smashing 58 off just 33, and Hobart got 179. At one stage, the match was out of control from Hobart, but they pulled off a comeback with tight spells. From 118/1 to 162/6, Sydney fell short of 11 runs to start the season with a defeat.
Handscomb professionally led the side and made various changes when the partnership was building between James Vince and Edwards. Hobart would aim to find one more win to boost its points. They delivered easily one point to Sydney in the chase under the new points system in Australia T20 League. Changes are unlikely to happen in this match. The captain can think about domestic performer Celeb Jewell at the top, or he may give a chance to the batting unit as they were not ready against the early bounce of the pitch.
Pitch Report
Bellerive Oval’s surface is a pure batting track. Pacers can get early help from the pitch. It’s a fast and damp tarck. Batting first would be a great idea after winning the toss.
Possible XI
Adelaide-S
Philip Salt, Matt Renshaw, Jake Weatherald, Harry Nielsen (wk), Jonathan Wells, Matthew Short, Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Danny Briggs, Daniel Worrall, Liam Scott
Hobart-H
D Arcy Short, Will Jacks, Colin Ingram, Peter Handscomb (c & wk), Macalister Wright, Tim David, James Faulkner, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith
Key Players
Adelaide-S
Jonathan Wells
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 15, Runs: 478, SR: 135.41
Matt Renshaw
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 14, Runs: 348, SR: 129.85
Hobart-H
Nathan Ellis
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 15, Wickets: 12, Eco: 7.94
D'Arcy Short
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 16, Runs: 357, Avg: 44.62
