Sydney-T will continue its campaign in Australia T20 League with the Tuesday clash against Perth. Sydney-T are coming off a clinical victory over Brisbane, while Perth got only two points from the first two matches with Melbourne franchises.
Match Timings: Dec 22, 1:45 PM IST
Team Preview
Riding on Daniel Sams heroics, Sydney opened its account in the table, and they got enough break after the spectacular victory. After losing the season opener against the 2019-20 runner-ups, Sydney was also heading towards another defeat. Chasing the target of 179, Sydney lost five wickets on 80, and the require-run-rate was favouring Brisbane, but Daniel Sams smashed 65 off just 25 balls to finish the match with seven balls spare.
Sydney avoided the mistakes in the chase as they were in the same situation in the season-opener against Melbourne-R. Chasing 170, Sydney lost the game in death-overs after collapsing from 115/2 to 147/9. The middle-order hasn’t impressed much in both games, and Brisbane could have spoiled the party if they would have picked Sams earlier. In middle-overs, they struggled against the spin, and Ferguson has to accept this. Zampa conceded just 14 in the first game, and Mujeeb controlled the game in the second match.
Khawaja is Sydney’s key figure in top-order, and he failed in both games. Alex Hales has played a good knock in the first match along with Callum Ferguson. Both batsmen scored a duck against Brisbane, and the middle-order was tested. Ferguson tried Baxter Holt ahead of Ben Cutting, and he could give him an exact spot in middle-order. The reliability on Sams and Cutting cannot win matches for Sydney. They have done very well in the past with the success of its top-order, and if the top-order don’t win powerplays, they will be in big trouble.
The bowling is doing positive things for them. Daniel Sams is crucial in both spells, and Sangha is also a good option to try with the new ball. Chris Green conceded more than 10 runs per over in the first two games but grabbed three as well. They have a good combination of pace and spin, which can surprise Perth.
Meanwhile, Ashton Turner’s Perth played against both Melbourne sides and remained winless. After losing the opening encounter to Melbourne-R, Perth got two points in the washed-out affair against Melbourne-S. Before the rain hit again, Perth had controlled the game after the Stoinis’ wicket, and they could have pulled off the 6-overs affair. In both games, the batting tested, and Turner would not be happy with this approach. In the first game, they bowled out on 130, and in the second game, they slipped in the death-overs after a fluent start.
Munro got runs in the last game, and it’s a great sign for Perth for the upcoming crunch matches. Jos Inglis needs one good knock to find the form, and Mitchell Marsh also has to fire with both bat and ball. Turner scored a fine 39 off 17 balls, and the captain would try to bowl more overs in the middle to fulfill the 6th bowling option. Jhye Richardson is leading the bowling attack smartly, and he could be a game-changer for Perth. In two outings, he picked three within 22 balls. Joel Paris was included in the previous game in place of Jason Behrendorff, but he didn’t bowl. Turner might go ahead with the same playing XI in Canberra.
Pitch Report
Manuka Oval is a decent T20 ground, and it offers reasonable assistance to both batsmen and bowlers. Batsmen need to play sensibly against the pace. It’s a track of 160-170, and chasing might be tricky on this track.
Possible XI
Sydney-T
Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Alex Ross, Baxter Holt (wk), Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Jonathan Cook, Tanveer Sangha
Perth-S
Josh Inglis (wk), Colin Munro, Joe Clarke, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Joel Paris, Fawad Ahmed
Key Players
Sydney-T
Alex Hales
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 17, Runs: 576, Avg: 38.40
This season – 46 (41)
Daniel Sams
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 17, Wickets: 30, Avg: 15.36
Previous outing – 32-2 & 65 (25)
Perth-S
Josh Inglis
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 14, Runs: 405, SR: 153.99
Mitchell Marsh
Australia T20 League (last season) – M: 14, Runs: 382, Wickets: 05
