BBL 7, Match 19: Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars – Match Predictions

This is going to be the first Melbourne derby of this season and the Renegades will be going into it with much more confidence than their local rivals Stars who have lost three games in succession and can’t afford any more slip-ups from here on. Stars’ performance has been somewhat surprising as they have got some wonderful and experienced T20 players, but they haven’t managed to click as a unit.

The Melbourne Renegades, although had a poor game against the Scorchers, have lived up to the expectations of their fans and are marching forward. They are at no. 4 in the standings with 12 points right now and a couple of more wins will get them closer to the knockouts. They will want to continue on their winning ways and put more pressure on an already under-fire Stars’ line-up.

Here’s what we, at CricTracker predict will be the final result-

Scenario 1: Melbourne Renegades win the toss

Toss Prediction: Renegades decide to bat first

First Innings Prediction: 180-190

Result Prediction: Melbourne Renegades win by 30 runs

Scenario 2: Melbourne Stars win the toss

Toss Prediction: Stars opt to bat first

First Innings Prediction: 155-165

Result Prediction: Melbourne Renegades win by 6 wickets

Head to Head Record

Total Matches Played – 11, Melbourne Renegades won – 3, Melbourne Stars won – 8, No Result/Tied – 0

Melbourne Renegades

The captain Aaron Finch returned to form for the Renegades with a half century in the last game against the Sixers. He wasn’t quite at his best, but he hung in there and got the much-needed runs under his belt to gain some confidence moving ahead in the tournament. He is such a key player for the Renegades that they desperately need him to be in good touch.

Finch has got some good support in the batting order as Cameron White has been as consistent as ever in the recent times at no. 3 and Brad Hodge, despite having crossed his forties, looks well and truly capable of hitting them big as well along with Dwayne Bravo who is always there to chip away with a few runs. It’s a feisty top 5 which, on its day, can rip into the bowlers.

Predicted XI: Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch (C), Cameron White, Dwayne Bravo, Tom Cooper, Brad Hodge, Mohammad Nabi, Tim Ludeman, Jack Wildermuth, Kane Richardson, Brad Hogg

Melbourne Stars

The problem for the Stars is that their big players haven’t fired so far. The likes of Kevin Pietersen and Glenn Maxwell, although they have scored some runs, those runs haven’t quite come at the pace they would have liked. These two Box Office players would like to have more impact in this crunch game and make the job of the lower middle order much easier.

The Stars’ bowling is led by the captain John Hastings and James Faulkner, but both of them have been off-colour in the tournament. The two spinners Adam Zampa and Michael Beer have however kept it tight and have provided important breakthroughs to the team. The quicks will have to support them through to make sure the pressure is not released from the opposition which has happened in the last three games.

Predicted XI: Ben Dunk, Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Rob Quiney, James Faulkner, John Hastings (C), Adam Zampa, Liam Bowe, Michael Beer

We believe that the Melbourne Renegades will beat the Melbourne Stars in this game.