Melbourne Stars get a fair chance to settle scores against Hobart Hurricanes after waiting for just one day. Two of the most entertaining teams of BBL season 2020-21 are ready to lock horns in the initial match of double-header Monday at The Bellerive Oval, Hobart. Hurricanes forced stop Maxwell’s storm in last schedule to walk away with 21 runs win, team’s spirit is all time high with inclusion of Nepal’s cricket icon Sandeep Lamichhane. On the other side, Stars are yet to deliver performance as per team’s anticipated mettle; the star-packed team desperately needs a win to achieve a breakthrough amongst top four BBL teams.

Match Preview

Venue: The Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Date: 04th January, 2020

Time: 04:05 PM (Local) and 10:35 PM (IST)

Pitch Report

The Bellerive Oval ground is already popular worldwide for offering healthy bounce and carry for the quick guns. Batsmen are believed to face difficulty towards the start of the match; easy stroke playing will accelerate the ball towards the boundary as the outfield at Hobart is lightning fast. The visible cracks of the pitch are gripped strongly with a fairly presence of grass patches.

Weather Forecast

Scattered Clouds will be visible in Hobart on the match day although perception of rain is as low as 20% during the course of the match.  Temperature is believed to be pleasant for an evening session of cricket and will hover around 21 degree Celsius and 13 degree Celsius. Atmospheric moisture will be on the rise with 63% setting and wind speed is believed to be stable with nominal interference in match.

Probable Playing XI for the Match

Melbourne Stars: Ben Dunk, Andre Fletcher, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Nick Larkin, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Billy Stanlanke, and Zahir Khan/Marcus Stoinis       

Hobart Hurricanes: D ‘Arcy Short, Ben McDermott (wk), David Milan, Peter Handscomb, Colin Ingram, Tim David, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith and Sandeep Lamichhane