Melbourne-S will go head to head against Hobart for the second time in Monday’s clash in Australia T20 League 2020-21. Hobart had the last laugh when both sides met in Hobart.
Match Timings: Jan 04, 10:35 AM IST
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Melbourne-S and Hobart-H will face each other one more time to boost its points table game in 2021. After a defeat in Bellerive oval, Melbourne-S are in big trouble, and they suffered the third straight defeat of the season. Maxwell’s troops started the season with a bang, but they saw the downfall in the last two weeks. It all started with the last over defeat to Sydney-S, where Hughes snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In the next game, they were dominated by Sydney-T, and they lost by huge 71 runs. They conceded the third-highest total in the tournament history. In the first encounter of this year, they failed to chase 165. Rainbird made his debut for Green Outfit. The bowling unit controlled Hobart despite a Malan show. Maxwell was the only player who fought in the chase with scoring 70 off just 37 balls. The top-order failed badly as they lost the first three in six overs.
When Maxwell got out, they required 53 off 41 balls, and it’s an easy equation in the T20 format, but the middle-order failed to take the responsibility, and Melbourne-S fall short of 21 runs. Zampa will be back after serving a one-match suspension, and Zahir Khan might be dropped in Gabba. The batting unit is boosted by Pooran, but consistency is missing in the batting unit. Stoinis had a mixed season with the bat. Despite having the match-winners like Stoinis, Maxwell, and Pooran, Melbourne-S are losing the matches in a silly manner.
Meanwhile, Hobart are highly motivated after back-to-back wins, and Dawid Malan has given them a big boost. After losing to Brisbane in the first reverse fixture, they won the last-ball thriller, thanks to a fine throw from Colin Ingram. Dawid Malan didn’t take much time to settle in Australian conditions. After scoring 39 against Brisbane, the Englishman scored a fine 75 in the New Year clash. Hobart got 164, and the bowlers defended it very well. They took the game away from Maxwell in the last 7 overs. They conceded just 31 runs after Maxwell’s wicket in 6.5 overs.
D Arcy Shot had a disappointing season with the bat, scoring one half-century, and McDermott was also off the colors. Tim David has been a great signing for Hobart this season, who has aggregated 189 runs at an average of 47.25. Meredith is doing his job very well with the new ball, and he has scalped ten wickets from 7 matches. The inclusion of Sandeep Lamichhane helped them in the spin. The Nepali spinner bagged two for 38 in the last match. Hobart is a good side, and they need to fix its middle-order issues to extend this winning run. Some issues occurred against the spin for Hobart at Gabba, and Melbourne would take this in its mind. They may opt for Zampa and Zahir Khan together.
Pitch Report
Gabba’s surface is a batting-friendly wicket, but it has a good amount of help to spin. Pacers can take early help, and chasing would be a tricky call here.
Possible XI
Melbourne-S
Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ben Dunk, Liam Hatcher, Lance Morris, Sam Rainbird, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa, Nic Maddinson/Zahir Khan
Hobart-H
D Arcy Short, Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane
Key Players
Melbourne-S
Glenn Maxwell
Season so far – M: 6, Runs: 249, Avg: 62.25
Liam Hatcher
Season so far – M: 5, Wickets: 9, Avg: 17.33
Hobart-H
Tim David
Season so far – M: 6, Runs: 189, Avg: 47.25
Riley Meredith
Season so far – M: 7, Wickets: 10, Avg: 20.10
