Match 22 of the ongoing Australia T20 League will see the winless Melbourne Renegades taking on their city rival, Melbourne Stars, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on 4th January. The match will kick start at 1:40 PM IST. Renegades are having a torrid time this season as they have lost all of their five matches so far. The Aaron Finch-led side got edged out by Sydney Sixers in their last game. Melbourne Stars, on the other hand, survived a batting collapse in the last game to beat Sydney Thunder by three wickets.
A nail-biting win last night against Sydney Thunder saw Melbourne Stars move to the top of the Australia T20 League table. Stars were cruising in the run chase; thanks to the half-centuries by player of the match Nick Larkin and Marcus Stoinis, but a batting collapse saw them on the blink of a loss. Stars needed just 20 from 23 balls with nine wickets in hand. But they lost 6 for 19 runs in the space of 20 balls. But Adam Zampa held his nerve and calmly hit the winning run with two balls to spare.
Renegades’ winless streak in the tournament continued with the last match as well as they lost another close encounter. After posting a modest total of 154, Renegades tried their best with the ball and were in the hunt after getting quick wickets in the middle over but they got undone by James Vince and Jordan Silk. The duo formed a crucial partnership to steer Sixers home.
Renegades sadly have now lost all of their 5 matches and their prospect of even making it to the playoffs looks very bleak. The team will look to be positive against the in-form Stars and would hope to clinch their first win.
Head to Head
|
Matches Played |
Melbourne Stars |
Renegades |
No Result |
|
16 |
11 |
5 |
0 |
Pitch Report
MCG surface has been known for producing good batting pitch but the long boundaries will give some sort of advantage to spinners as well.
Weather Conditions
The weather in Melbourne is expected to be cloudy and there are 11% chances of rain. The temperature at night will be around 13 degree Celsius.
Probable Playing XI
Melbourne Stars
Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis, Nick Larkin, Peter Handscomb (wk), Glenn Maxwell (C), Ben Dunk, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Haris Rauf, Clint Hinchliffe.
Renegades
Aaron Finch (C), Shaun Marsh, Sam Harper (wk), Tom Cooper, Dan Christian, Beau Webster, Cameron Boyce, Richard Gleeson, Will Sutherland, Kane Richardson, Tom Andrews.
Key Players
Melbourne Stars
Glenn Maxwell
Marcus Stoinis
Renegades
Aaron Finch
Shaun Marsh
