High-flying Perth will face mid-table rivals Hobart in the first doubleheader clash of Australia T20 League 2020-21.
Match Timings: Jan 22, 10:35 AM IST
Team Preview
Perth is on a remarkable campaign, and they moved to second after beating Brisbane by 59 runs in Docklands Stadium. It was the sixth win for Perth in the last seven games, and they have assured their place for the playoffs. Turner’s troops put 174 runs on board, riding on Colin Munro’s blistering knock of 82 off 54 balls. Perth finished on 174, and the rest of the job was done by its bowlers. Brisbane were bowled out on just 115. Fawad Ahmed built the pressure in middle-overs and picked three for 25. Richardson, Tye, and Behrendroff picked two wickets each.
Perth is phenomenal this edition, and Turner’s approach after the first three matches was magnificent. He got his five bowlers, and Turner would avoid extra bowling options. Livingstone looks better in top-order and recently got a quick half-century. Colin Munro is in terrific form from the last 5 games, and he is getting better with each game. In the last five matches, Munro aggregated 268 runs with four half-centuries. This comeback put Perth on top, and they are favourites this edition. Jason Roy has also given a good start, and from 8 matches, he has scored 237 runs at an average of 33.85.
Meanwhile, Hobart is still in the playoffs race despite a mid-downfall to its campaign. Sitting at the middle of the table, Hobart can also not afford a loss here. In the previous outing, they finally broke the three-matches losing streak and earned points against Sydney-T. Sydney-T posted a huge 177 on board in Canberra, and Hobart fought hard to get past this total. After losing both openers on 13, McDermott and Malan rescued Hobart with a match-winning stand. McDermott missed his ton by 4 runs, and Malan contributed 42 off 28 balls. Chasing 178 in just 18 overs lifted Hobart’s confidence high, but their top-order issues haven’t solved yet.
Short failed one more time with the bat, scoring 201 runs at a poor average of 18.27, but he is handy with the bowl, picking 6 wickets so far. Dawid Malan’s inclusion really helped Hobart in middle-order. The Englishman amassed 217 runs at an average of 31. Hobart have slight loopholes in the batting unit, and they rely on McDermott and Malan more. Tim David needs more deliveries to set a goal in death-overs. The stand-in skipper hasn’t impressed with the bat, and Hobart will welcome Wade as the captain for the remainder of the season.
Pitch Report
Docklands Stadium offers good bounce for the pacers. The track is good for batting. It will be the third game in a row on this surface, and we may expect good assistance to the batsmen.
Possible XI
Hobart-H
Ben McDermott (wk), D Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Mathew Wade (c), Will Jacks, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane
Perth-S
Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Bancroft, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed
Key Players
Hobart-H
Ben McDermott
Season so far – M: 9, Runs: 397, Avg: 49.62
Dawid Malan
Season so far – M: 7, Runs: 217, Avg: 31
Perth-S
Colin Munro
Season so far – M: 10, Runs: 353, Avg: 35.30
Jhye Richardson
Season so far – M: 10, Wickets: 21, Avg: 11.52
