Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars Match Prediction - Who will win today's match? BBL 2020-21, Match 32

The pitch at the Carrara Oval in Queensland is tilted in favor of the batsmen.

Published - 06 Jan 2021, 20:22 IST | Updated - 06 Jan 2021, 20:22 IST

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The fifth-placed side will battle the seventh-placed side in Match 32 of the Big Bash League as the Melbourne Stars will take on the Brisbane Heat at the Carrara Oval in Queensland. When the two sides met last time, the Melbourne Stars romped home with 6 wickets to spare.

After a poor start to the tournament, where they lost their first three matches, Brisbane Heat have managed to ‘heat’ up their performances, winning their last two games. In their previous encounter against the Sydney Thunders side, the Joe duo- Denly and Burns scored brisk half-centuries to help the side overcome a challenging target of 175. Also, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers for them, scalping two wickets and giving away just 26 runs.

The Melbourne Stars managed to arrest a three-match losing streak by beating the Hobart Hurricanes by 10 runs in a high-scoring encounter. It was literally a one-man show as far as the Stars were concerned, with Marcus Stoinis scoring a 55 ball 97 at the top of the order. Even though Ben McDermott scored a sizzling 58-ball 91 for the Hurricanes, the Stars managed to hold their nerve to pick up the win.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch at the Carrara Oval in Queensland is tilted in favor of the batsmen. There have been some high scoring games at this venue, and the bowlers have to be spot on with their lengths on this pitch.

Average first innings score

The average first innings score at the Carrara Oval in Queensland is 169 (There was a match where the first innings was reduced to 17 overs.)

Record of Chasing Teams

The teams chasing have won 3 out of the four matches at the Carrara Oval thus far.

Playing Combinations

Brisbane Heat Playing XI

Chris Lynn, Max Bryant, Joe Denly, Joe Burns, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson(c and wk), James Bazley, Jack Wildermuth, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Bench: Tom Cooper, Sam Heazlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Simon Milenko, Jack Wood, Lachlan Pfeffer

Melbourne Stars Playing XI

Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Hilton Cartwright, Seb Gotch, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Sam Rainbird, Billy Stanlake

Bench: Jonathan Merlo, Clint Hinchliffe, Nathan Coulter Nile, Nick Larkin, Tom O’Connell

Probable Top Performers

Melbourne Stars- Marcus Stoinis

When Marcus Stoinis gets going, he can decimate the opposition. And, the Hurricanes felt Stoinis’ wrath on 4th January 2021 as the right-hander tore into their bowling attack. What makes Stoinis such danger at the top of the order is his ability to take the attack to the opposition.

And, in the ongoing edition of the Big Bash League, Stoinis averages 39.20. But more importantly, he has scored his runs at a strike rate of 160.65. If the Brisbane side do not get Stoinis early, then they will have plenty of problems in tomorrow’s game. Stoinis was also the star of the previous Big Bash edition, aggregating 705 runs and emerged as the top run-scorer of the tournament.

Brisbane Heat-Mark Steketee

The ability to pick up wickets in crucial in cricket, irrespective of the format. And, that is exactly what Mark Steketee has managed to do during the 2021 edition of the Big Bash League. The right-arm pacer is currently the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing edition and has taken 12 wickets at an excellent average of 16.50.

Steketee’s strike rate in this tournament too has been extraordinary, at 11.80. In the previous game too, Steketee took the wicket of Ben Cutting, when the right-hander was trying to cut loose in the previous game against Sydney Thunders. The pacer’s ability to continuously pick wickets makes him an asset for his side.