Perth Scorchers, who are occupying the second spot on the points table will have a golden opportunity to move up to the top of the table when they lock horns with Melbourne Stars on, Thursday, December 29 at the Perth Stadium. Meanwhile, the Adam Zampa-led Stars had a poor start to the season, winning just one out of their four games.
They recently suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Sydney Sixers as their batting performance looked average, to say the least. Beau Webster was the only player who stepped up and scored 78 off 51 deliveries while others failed to make the opportunity count.
With the ball, Trent Boult failed to impress in the last game while skipper Zampa, Luke Wood and Webster picked up one scalp each. So far, the team has only managed to defeat Hobart Hurricanes in the ongoing Big Bash League.
Coming to Scorchers, the Ashton Turner-led side defeated the league leaders Adelaide Strikers in their last match by three wickets. Skipper Turner stepped up in a crunch situation and scored 48* off 38 deliveries to seal the victory in his team’s favour.
With the ball, Andrew Tye looked impressive as the veteran Aussie quick picked up three wickets while Jason Behrendorff and Ashton Agar picked up one wicket each.
Interestingly, when the last time these two sides met, Scorchers defeated Stars by 61 runs. Faf du Plessis and Josh Inglis went berserk in the game as Stars looked haphazard.
Match Details
Venue: Perth Stadium, Perth
Date & Time: December 29, 3:45 PM IST
Telecast & Live Streaming: Sony Sports Network and SonyLiv app
Pitch Report
The surface at the Perth Stadium is going to help the bowlers. It is likely to be a low-scoring game and batting first will be ideal.
Click Here: Live Cricket Score of Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars, 20th Match
Predicted Playing XIs for SCO vs STA
Perth Scorchers:
Adam Lyth, Faf du Plessis, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis (wk), Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Hatzoglou
Melbourne Stars:
Joe Clarke (wk), Thomas Rogers, Beau Webster, Nick Larkin, Hilton Cartwright, Campbell Kellaway, James Seymour, Luke Wood, Liam Hatcher, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa (c)
Probable Best Performer from SCO vs STA
Probable best batter: Josh Inglis
The 27-year-old Josh Inglis has lit up the ongoing season of the BBL. The middle-order batter has scored 168 runs in four matches at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 180.64. He is currently the second-leading run-scorer of the tournament and if he manages to keep up his consistency, he can very well end the season as the leading run-getter.
Probable best bowler: Luke Wood
Luke Wood has been one of Melbourne Stars’ most impactful players this season. The pacer has picked up nine wickets in four matches this season and will be extremely crucial for his team in the match against Scorchers.
Today’s Match Prediction: Perth Scorchers to win
Also Check: SCO vs STA Dream11 Prediction
