The top-seeded Melbourne Stars’ fine BBL season will go to waste if they can’t overcome the surging, fifth-placed Sydney Thunder in The Challenger. The winner goes through to take on the Sydney Sixers in Saturday’s final; the loser is done and dusted. We take a look at Thursday’s (6/2/2020) BBL Big Bash Finals 2020 match between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder and take a look at both teams odds and give our tips and value tips for the match.
When: Thursday, 6th February at 7:45PM
Where: MCG
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Preview:
The 10-4 Stars began to unravel by losing their last three regular-season games – after winning 10 of their first 11.
The slide continued with a woeful 43-run loss to the Sixers in The Qualifier. Adam Zampa (3/23) helped keep the visitors to 7/142, but the Stars were bowled out for just 99 as the top order failed miserably.
The 6-7-1 Thunder snared the last BBL finals spot with a clutch seven-wicket win over the Scorchers in Perth.
They have continued to walk the tightrope on the road with sudden-death playoff defeats of the Hurricanes (57 runs) and Strikers (8 runs). English opener Alex Hales has been worth his wait in gold, top-scoring for the Thunder in their last five games at an average of 62.8.
The Stars have won their last three against the Thunder, sweeping the BBL09 regular-season series.
The table-toppers grabbed a three-wicket win with two balls to spare in Sydney. Haris Rauf (3/24) did the job with the ball to restrict the Thunder to 7/142, before Nick Larkin (65 off 45) laid the platform for a successful chase.
The Stars did it easier at the MCG six days later. They prevailed by six wickets with 13 balls left after Rauf (3/23) and Glenn Maxwell (59* off 37) cut loose.
Record-breaking Stars opener Marcus Stoinis holds the key for the floundering hosts. After averaging a ridiculous 93 in his previous seven innings, Stoinis has made just 5, 17 and 5 in the Stars’ last three outings. Maxwell could also do with some runs, while Peter Handsomb has been in good form recently.
Hales needs back-up from veteran duo Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson.
In the head-to-head stakes, the Thunder are very enticing as $2.08 underdogs. Meanwhile, if the Stars are to reach a second straight BBL final, Stoinis must feature prominently.
Odds:
Tip: Melbourne Stars $1.73
Value BET: Man of the Match: Glenn Maxwell at $8.00
Teams:
Melbourne Stars squad
Glenn Maxwell (c), Pat Brown (England – international replacement), Hilton Cartwright, Jackson Coleman, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Peter Handscomb, Clint Hinchliffe, Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Jonathan Merlo, Lance Morris, Tom O’Connell, Dale Steyn (South Africa), Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa.
Sydney Thunder squad
Callum Ferguson (c), Jonathan Cook, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Usman Khawaja, Jay Lenton, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Morris (South Africa), Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain.