SCO vs THU, Match Prediction- Who will win today's match? BBL 2020-21, Match 34

Daniel Sams is yet to recover from concussion has been ruled out again.

Published - 09 Jan 2021, 10:34 IST | Updated - 09 Jan 2021, 10:34 IST

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Two teams at the opposite ends of the points table will take on each other, as a fast-improving Perth Scorchers will take on the consistent Sydney Thunders side in Match 34 of the Big Bash League. While the Thunders have dominated the competition thus far, winning six out of their eight games and are sitting right at the top of the table with 22 points, the Scorchers have managed to put together three wins thus far from 7 outings.

The Sydney Thunders were back to their clinical best in the match against the Hobart Hurricanes, beating their opponents by a margin of 39 runs. Usman Khawaja and Alex Ross were the star performers with the willow. While Khawaja struck an impressive 33-ball 49, Ross scored 44 off just 33 balls to power the Sydney side to a total of 167/5. The bowlers then did a tidy job to restrict the Hurricanes side to a total of just 128.

After enduring a horrible start to the tournament, where they could not put up a single win in their first four games, the Scorchers have shown signs of revival, putting together three consecutive wins on the trot. In their previous encounter against the Sydney Sixers, the Scorchers were proficient in all the departments and thrashed their opposition by 86 runs.

Mitchell Marsh destroyed the opposition bowling attack, scoring 57 off just 27 balls. Andrew Tye was the pick of the bowlers for the Scorchers, scalping 4 wickets and giving away just 20 runs. The last time the two sides met, the Thunders cantered home with 7 wickets to spare.

Pitch and Conditions

‘Win the toss and bat first’ seems to be the mantra as far as this pitch is concerned. It is a pitch that will definitely aid stroke-making as Usman Khawaja showed in the game between Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes. The wicket will also have some purchase for the seamers early on.

Average first innings score

178 – 3 matches played at the Perth Stadium.

Record of Chasing teams

Won – o, Lost- 3

Playing Combinations

Sydney Thunder Playing XI

Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Alex Ross, Arjun Nair, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Adam Milne, Tanveer Sangha

Bench: Jonathan Cook, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matt Gilkes, Baxter Holt

Perth Scorchers Playing XI

Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner(c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

Bench: Matt Kelly, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Corey Rocchiccioli,

Probable Top Performers

Sydney Thunders-Tanveer Sangha

Tanveer Sangha can be termed as the find of the tournament, Aged just 19, the right-arm leg spinner has taken the tournament by storm, and is currently the highest wicket-taker in this edition of the Big Bash League. Sangha has picked up 15 wickets in this edition, but more importantly, he has taken them at an astounding average of 13.73 and at an even better strike rate of 11.40.

Even in the previous game against the Hobart Hurricanes, Sangha took the crucial wickets of Peter Handscomb and Colin Ingram to put the brakes on the opposition. If Sangha can delve into his bag of tricks and flummox the opposition once more, the Sydney Thunder can consolidate their position at the top of the points table.

Perth Scorchers- Colin Munro

If Colin Munro gets going, then there will surely be jitters in the opposition camp. The Kiwi left-hander is an explosive batsman and can strike lusty blows with ease. In the last two matches, Munro has been amongst the runs and has carted the bowlers all around the park.

While in the game against the Renegades, Munro scored a 31-ball 52 including five sixes, in the Scorchers’ previous encounter against the Sixers, Munro again got into the act, smashing 50 off just 34 balls pummeling the Sydney Sixers side into submission. The Scorchers will be hoping that Munro scores a hat-trick of fifties in the game against the Thunder.