• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Match Preview Hurricanes Fight For Survival Against Bruised Thunder In Bbl 2020

Match Preview: Hurricanes fight for survival against bruised Thunder in BBL 2020

Onecricket

Hobart Hurricanes would give it their all to fight for their hopes of reaching the playoffs spot when they face Sydney Thunder on Monday, 18 January. Thunder have lost two back to back games against Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers. Hurricanes on the other hand have lost three on the trot and their Playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. This game is also important for the men in Purple as their main players in Matthew Wade and Tim Paine would return from national duties for the next game, so the team would like to be in the hunt till that happens. 

Thunder batting needs to own up

It is the batting unit of Thunder that has consistently shown up from the start of the tournament but in the last two games, two collapses meant that they were not playing on their strength and that cost them the games. It is the business end of the tournament and the likes of Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, skipper Callum Ferguson and Sam Billings, the four people who hold the key to any match. They would be looking to raise their hands and own up the responsibilities before it gets too late to get back in form. 

The other big asset of Thunder is its spinners and with Chris Green injured in the last game, they were put in a spot of bother. With confirmation that he is fit and available for selection, the team would really like to check the run flow of the opposition with Tanvir Sangha and Green.  

McDermott, Malan need to bring on their best

It's 'now or never’ for the Hurricanes. There is no option but to win as they reel in the 7th position, else they would be dependent on other team’s results. Ben McDermott, the wicket-keeper batsman of the ‘Canes has been the best man for them with the bat. The number one ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan is another person on whom the Hurricanes would be banking. 

It is high time that these two bring on their best game because if they are unable to do so, like in the last few games, the only way for the Hurricanes would be down the barrel in the points table. Thus McDermott, one of the leading run-scorers in this season’s BBL has his task cut out and so has Malan. They also have a chance of becoming heroes if they win that game for their team at the Manuka Oval. An opportunity beckons, but can the two of them seize it!

Thunder vs Hurricanes: Match Details

Match Number-43

Date and Time: Jan 18, 2021, 1:45:00 pm IST, 06.40 pm Local, 08.15 am GMT

Venue- Manuka Oval. Canberra

Broadcast: Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network

Pitch Report

The wicket at the Manuka Oval has been one of the best for a T20 game. It has almost everything in it. It could be high scoring if batsmen apply themselves and have something for the bowlers with the ball nipping back in and the odd one keeping low as was seen in the game between Renegades and Heat. The wicket has gone dry and therefore a total of 160-170 is now a fighting total if the defending team has two quality spinners and fast bowlers who could bowl cutters well. 

Weather and Toss

The weather did play some tricks in the last Thunder game against the Sixers. For tomorrow the weather is supposed to be all sunny with clear skies. Thus on winning the bat flip, chances are that the captain would decide to bowl first although losing the toss on such a wicket wouldn’t really be a bad proposition. 

Thunder Strongest XI

Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Alex Ross, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne, Chris Green, Tanveer Sangha

Hurricanes Strongest XI

D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane

Powered by Froala Editor

Powered by Froala Editor

Discover more

Top Stories
news

SMAT 2021: Mumbai bundled out for 94

Pondicherry had a brilliant day at the office after beating Mumbai by 6 wickets in Mumbai on Sunday at Wankhede in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Chasing 95 in 20 overs, Pondicherry chased down the target in 19 overs. Earlier, Mumbai were bundled out for a paltry total of 94 against Pondicherry . After being put into bat, Mumbai lost an early wicket in the form of Aditya Tare for 13. Tare’s departure saw a flurry of wickets and were reduced to 39/5 with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Siddesh Lad and Yashasvi Jaiswal back in the hut. Shivam Dube tried to hold the innings from one end as he scored 28 off 25 but ran out of partners. Akash who was the second highest scorer in the innings remained unbeaten at 20. Pondicherry rode on Santha Moorthy’s fifer to dominate the Mumbai batting. Moorthy’s wickets tally included the dismissals of Jaiswal, Tare, Suryakumar, Lad and Suit Naik. He eventually returned with figures of 5/20 in 4 overs. Former India player Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun was the last player to get out for 3. Mumbai have had a dismal run in the tournament so far. They have played three games in the tournament so far and have last all of them. Shivam Dube tried to hold the innings from one end as he scored 28 off 25 but ran out of partners. Akash who was the second highest scorer in the innings remained unbeaten at 20. Pondicherry rode on Santha Moorthy’s fifer to dominate the Mumbai batting. Moorthy’s wickets tally included the dismissals of Jaiswal, Tare, Suryakumar, Lad and Suit Naik. He eventually returned with figures of 5/20 in 4 overs. Former India player Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun was the last player to get out for 3. Mumbai have had a dismal run in the tournament so far. They have played three games in the tournament so far and have last all of them.

news

Shahid Afridi requests former Pakistan greats to emulate Rahul Dravid

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has advised the stalwarts to nurture the young crops in the same way Rahul Dravid has been doing in India. Dravid has been the coach of India’s U19 and ‘A’ teams and returned with good results that included the win in junior World Cup in the year 2018. Apart from this, the players who have played under him have been performing well for the national team. “I think as it is we are facing a shortage of quality talent so what is coming through needs to be groomed properly by our former greats. They can do a lot with these young players,” Afridi said at an event. Afridi also talked about the on-going issues between fast bowler Mohammad Amir and the team management. Amir had retired from international cricket after alleging “mental torture” by the management. “Even in my time bowlers had problems with the coaches. My issues with Waqar are well documented. I think this can only be prevented when the board (PCB) opens up and listens and talks to disgruntled players,” he said. Earlier, Babar Azam and coach Misbah had said that Amir was dropped from the side because of his inconsistency. "Mohammad Amir was dropped as his performances were not up to the mark. If he regains his form and continues to perform, then selectors will definitely consider his return and talk to him," he said. "Nobody was supporting his selection on the basis of performance. I have no idea why he made up everything and tried to give this whole scenario a context that is out of proportion. For him, it was a simple method: go back and prove his form and get back in the team and everything else is irrelevant," Misbah had said in a press conference.