Australia T20 League 2022

Match 9- STR vs THU

Preview 

Strikers and Thunders will battle it out  in match 9 of the Australian T20 League 2022 season at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. The Sydney based franchise put on a courageous fight in their last game against the Renegades. Batting first, they posted a decent total of 174 courtesy Rilee Roussouw’s free flowing 53. In the bowling department, Sams showed promise, picking up three wickets to keep the Renegades batters in check. However, Aaron Finch stood one end firmly and denied Thunders their second victory of the competition. Strikers on the other hand emphatically won their previous encounter against the same opponents (Thunders). Batting first Strikers managed to put a meagre total of 138 on the board. Their bowlers then ran through Thunders batting lineup and wrapped their entire innings for the record lowest total of 15. While Strikers will look to complete a double over Thunders in the reverse fixture, Sangha and co will eye a comeback and make it even against their counterparts. 

Strikers scripted history when they bowled out Thunders for the lowest total ever in T20 history. Their bowling department; particularly their pace attack looks menacing. Thorton, Agar and Siddle form a destructive trio. Rashid Khan will once again lead the spin bowling prowess for the Strikers. The same could however not be said about their batting lineup. Weatheraland has struggled at the top of the order, Short besides his match altering innings in the first match has failed to carry onto his good form. Their middle order seems wobbly with Chris Lynn finding it difficult to get going. It is still early days in the tournament but if the Strikers want to go far in the competition, they’ll have to work on this area. 

Thunders have a chance to redeem themselves this time around against a team who handed them the most embarrassing defeat in the history of T20 cricket. Middle order  weakness against the pace bowlers was exposed during their last meeting. Rille Roussouw found form against Renegades in the recent match. Other batters will also have to chip in with valuable contributions to help the cause of their side. Thunders ought to win this game and add some substance to their faltering campaign. 

Match Details

Match: STR vs THU, 9th Match, Aus T20 League 2022-23

Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Time: 1:45 PM

Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

Pitch and Weather Report

The Adelaide Oval deck provides assistance for both batters and bowlers. With an average score of 144, Adelaide is expected to be neutral in favour of both the fronts. Expect a competitive battle between bat and ball. 

Apart from a few clouds in the morning, Adelaide Oval is projected to present ideal weather conditions for a full fledged match. 

Form Guide

THU: L L W L L 

STR: W W W W W 

Head to Head

Team                Matches Won

(i)THU                      9

(ii)STR                      9

Squads

THU: Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, David Willey (withdrawn), Fazalhaq Farooqi (replacing David Willey, first nine matches only), Ben Cutting, Usman Qadir, Gurinder Sandhu

STR: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Ryan Gibson, Travis Head, Adam Hose, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Rashid Khan, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Matt Short, Jake Weatherald, Henry Thorton, Peter Siddle, Ben Manenti, Jordan Buckingham (local replacement player)

Probable Playing XIs

THU: Alex Hales, Matthew Gilkes, Rilee Rossouw, Jason Sangha, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Oliver Davies, Chris Green, Gurinder Sandhu, Brendan Doggett, and Fazal Haq Farooqi.

STR: Jake Weatherald, Matthew Short, Chris Lynn, Adam Hose, Colin de Grandhomme, Harry Nielsen, Rashid Khan, Thomas Kelly, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle, and Henry Thornton.

Hot Fantasy Picks

Wicket Keeper

Matthew Gilkes: The wicket-keeper batter wouldn’t be pleased with the way he has started the tournament. He has struggled with his timing and has looked uneasy during his stay at the crease. Gilkes needs to play to his strengths which is occupying long durations in the middle and then eventually go for the kill instead of going bang bang from ball one. Although, he isn’t in the best of forms lately but the dedication and tenacity he possesses, we fancy him to bounce back and return to life. 

Batsmen

Chris Lynn: He hasn’t been at his lethal self in the competition but has made headways with his valuable contributions with bat in hand. 

Rilee Roussouw:  The SA batter is a key player in this Thunders lineup. He shrugged off the woeful start to the tournament with a well compiled fifty in the last game. Expect him to continue from where he left in the last game . 

All Rounders

Matthew Short- The Australian all rounder set the tournament on fire with a quick 84 in Strikers’ opening game. He is an ace all rounder proficient with both bat and ball. 

Daniel Sams- The exciting prospect hasn’t done much justice with bat in hand but has made amends with the way he has bowled in the tournament. He is coming on the back of decent match figures of 3/33 against the Renegades.  

Bowlers

Rashid Khan: The spin wizard is widely regarded for his craft with ball in hand. He is someone you can always bank upon to fetch good fantasy points.   

Henry Thorton: He is in the form of his life at the moment. He triggered a batting collapse against Thunders in the first leg and ended with 5 wickets to his name. 

Match Prediction 

Strikers are playing some good all round cricket at the moment. They are cohesively working as a unit and are thus inducing favourable outcomes. We fancy them to win this game and extend their winning streak to six games. 

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