HOBART H VS. MELBOURNE S: AUSTRALIAN T20 LEAGUE, MATCH 23 | MATCH PREDICTION AND FANTASY CRICKET TIPS
Match 23 of the Australian T20 League 2020 has Hobart H taking on Melbourne S at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart on Sunday evening.
Hobart H were able to make an immediate return to winning ways as they beat Brisbane H, taking immediate revenge for their loss in the first match. They are currently third in the points table with 4 wins in their 6 games.
As the openers failed, D Malan showed signs of his T20 skills as he top-scored with 39 which helped the team post 150. In a game of small margins, superb fielding from Colin Ingram produced a run-out which handed the Hurricanes a one-run victory.
On the other hand, Melbourne S have suffered back-to-back defeats in their last two games. Stars bowling failed to contain the Thunder batsmen, conceded 219 runs, and eventually lost by 75 runs. They sit in fifth place with 10 points from 5 matches.
Melbourne S have issues in the bowling because of the injury to N Coulter-Nile and are now without A Zampa for this match because of a one-match suspension during the defeat to the Thunder.
With the tournament reaching the midway point, every match becomes important from the point of view of qualification. Get ready for an exciting match between these evenly matched teams.
Match Details
- Match: Hobart H vs. Melbourne S, Match 23
- Venue: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
- Date & Time: Jan. 2, 2021, at 11.35 AM IST
Probable Playing XI
Hobart H
- D Short, B McDermott, D Malan, P Handscomb (C & WK), C Ingram, T David, K Paul, N Ellis, S Boland, R Meredith, W Parker
- X-factor substitutes: M Wright, N Winter
Melbourne S
- M Stoinis, A Fletcher, H Cartwright, G Maxwell (C), N Pooran (WK), N Maddinson, C Hinchliffe, B Stanlake, L Hatcher, Z Khan, L Morris
- X-factor substitute: B Dunk, T O'Connell
Weather and Pitch Report
The sky will be mostly cloudy over Hobart during the match. The temperature will be around 21 degrees at the start of the game.
This venue is not as big as the other Australian grounds. The short square boundaries offer batsmen plenty of opportunities to score runs quickly. Fast bowlers do get early movement off the surface. Not much help is available for the spinners. The average first innings score in the six matches played here this season is 170 runs.
The side that wins the toss should opt to bat first and take advantage of the good surface. 170 can be a challenging total to chase here.
Key Players
- D Malan was the top scorer for Hobart in the last game. He looked fluent in his innings of 39 and would like to make a big score against the Stars here.
- C Ingram is the top run-scorer for Hobart, scoring 185 runs at a strike rate of 126. He has the highest score of 55 coming in the first game against the Sixers.
- R Meredith has been the best bowler for Hobart this season, picking up 10 wickets at an average of 16 and an economy rate of 7.17. He took 3 for 31 in the last game against Brisbane.
- M Stoinis is fit and back at the top of the order for Melbourne. He played a brisk inning of 29 runs in the last game against the Thunder. He will look to give a good start to the batting for Melbourne here.
- N Pooran has played one big knock of 65 runs and made 6 runs the second time he batted in the tournament. He plays at a very high strike rate and can hit sixes at will. He will look to take advantage of the same ground and good batting conditions here.
- L Hatcher has been the best bowler for Melbourne and has picked up 9 wickets at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 8.60. Although he went for runs in the last game, he is a wicket taker in this format of the game.
Howzat Dream Team
- Wicketkeepers: N Pooran, B McDermott
- Batsmen: D Malan, C Ingram, A Fletcher
- All-rounders: M Stoinis, D Short
- Bowlers: S Boland, R Meredith, L Hatcher, C Hinchliffe
- Captain: D Short/B McDermott
- Vice Captain: N Pooran/M Stoinis
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy 11, and play fantasy cricket matches. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.
Get fantasy cricket tips on your favorite fantasy sports app and select your own team, Howzat!
