Australian T20 League 2022-23

Knockout: REN vs HEA

Preview 

The Renegades vs. Heat Aus T20 League Knockout game is likely to be exciting, and we can't wait to witness it. The winner of this match will face either the Scorchers or the Sixers in the Challenger game.

This will be the Renegades' first match since they defeated the Strikers handily on January 24th, securing third place in the points table.

The Heat won their eliminator game against the Thunder and scored 203 runs, which was quite impressive. Due to heavy rain, the Thunder's batting chances were cut short, and Heat advanced to the next round. It is strange that so many people questioned Brisbane, considering no one should doubt a squad that has Australian batting talents like Khawaja, Labuschagne, and Renshaw. Fortunately for the Heat, all three will be available for the Renegades game before departing for India for the Test series. 

It's fair to argue that neither Khawaja nor Labuschagne have been especially useful in the BBL this season, but that all vanished in this win against the Thunder thanks to some excellent batting. Khawaja scored 94 off 55 deliveries, and Labuschagne scored 73 runs off 48 deliveries.

The Renegades on the other hand had a par season, as they finished 7-7 in the end. The team dealt well with injuries to Handscomb and Maddionson but top order batter Aaron Finch has been their chief architect this season. The Australian International has made 418 runs in 14 innings and is the third leading run scorer in the competition. The next best scorers are Sam Harper (242) and Jonathan Wells (231) – a significant drop-off from Finch's runs. Harper has struggled recently, scoring only 12 runs in his past three games, and Wells is questionable at best. Guptill had a terrible season, scoring only 164 runs.

Pace bowlers Tom Rogers (21 wickets) and Kane Richardson (12 wickets) have been outstanding this season and can be depended on. Although,they have had a few bad games where they picked no wickets and conceded way too many runs. 

Match Details

Match: REN vs HEA, Knockout, Aus T20 League 2022-23

Date: Sunday, January 29, 2023

Time: 1:45 PM

Venue: Docklands Stadium, Melbourne 

Pitch and Weather Report

The Docklands stadium surface has produced close games so far this season. The captain who wins the toss should bowl first, and anything over 170 is a decent total on this surface.

Cloudy skies with a maximum temperature of 21 degree celsius is forecasted on matchday. 

Form Guide

REN: L L W W W

HEA: W W W L W

Head to Head

Team                  Matches Won

REN                     13

HEA                     06

Squads

REN: Sam Harper (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Matthew Critchley, Jonathan Wells, Will Sutherland, Tom Rogers, Corey Rocchiccioli, Fawad Ahmed, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Ruwantha Kellepotha, David Moody, Jack Prestwidge

HEA: Usman Khawaja (c), Jimmy Peirson (wk), Josh Brown, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, James Bazley, Michael Neser, Matthew Kuhnemann, Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Mark Steketee 

Probable Playing XIs

REN: Shaun Marsh, Martin Guptill, Sam Harper(w), Aaron Finch(c), Matthew Critchley, Will Sutherland, Jonathan Wells, Tom Rogers, Corey Rocchiccioli, Kane Richardson, Fawad Ahmed

HEA: Usman Khawaja(c), Josh Brown, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, Jimmy Peirson(w), James Bazley, Michael Neser, Matthew Kuhnemann, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Swepson

Hot Fantasy Picks

(i) Wicket Keepers 

Sam Harper: The wicketkeeper batter has suffered with his form of late. However, he did impress us in the first half of the competition. He is a seasoned campaigner and we fancy him to do well in this crunch game. 

(ii) Batsmen 

Usman Khawaja: The southpaw scored 94 against Thunder in the eliminator. He looks in good touch and we expect him to continue his good run on Sunday. 

Aaron Finch: The veteran has scored 418 runs in 14 innings at a superb average of 41.08. 

(iii) All Rounders 

Will Sutherland: The pace bowling all rounder has been a critical part of this Renegades setup. He is very much capable of picking up wickets upfront and is a more than handy batter down the order. 

(iv) Bowlers 

Tom Rogers: The pace bowler has been consistent right throughout the season and has already picked 21 wickets in the season. He is quick, accurate and looks in good shape. 

Kane Richardson: The Australian speedster has taken 12 wickets so far this season. He possesses the ability to trouble opposition batters with his shrewdness and clever pace deceptions. 

Match Prediction

The odds show that Melbourne is the favourite, but betting on Brisbane will bring you a bigger return right now, because the team is doing quite well right now. The Heat have elite players and momentum that will propel them through the game.

The Heat is favourite to win this game. 

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