Deadline: December 23, 2019 at 1:40 PM IST
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Pitch report
The Adelaide Oval is like a Bermuda Triangle for bowlers. They get sucked into the uncertainties of the pitch, that the batsmen dictate terms through and through. The highest total registered at the venue is 233 for 2 by Australia against Sri Lanka.
Probable XIs
Strikers: Philip Salt, Jake Weatherald, Matthew Short, Alex Carey (c & wk), Jonathan Wells, Rashid Khan, Cameron White, Cameron Valente, Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, Billy Stanlake
Scorchers: Liam Livingstone, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Bancroft, Ashton Turner, Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Chris Jordan, Jhye Richardson, Fawad Ahmed, Joel Paris
NOTE: Pick your fantasy cricket team wisely.
Match prediction
The Strikers’ first match was abandoned due to bad air quality. Their batsmen did a remarkable job of putting up a competitive total on the board on a track that was equally good for the bowlers. They kept the scoreboard ticking by running hard between the wickets when boundaries were difficult to come by.
On the other hand, the Scorchers made amends after losing their first match comprehensively to the Sixers, thanks to their captain Mitchell Marsh’s late blitz.
In all, it will be a cracker of contest between a team that has street smart cricketers and a team boasting of powerful hitters.
Players to watch out for
Jake Weatherald and Alex Carey had to steady the ship when they were 2 down for a mere 8 runs. One of them had to take the onus of launching a counterattack, and Weatherald took it upon himself: he scored a brisk 42 before getting his defence dismantled. Carey then took over and stitched another vital partnership with Jonathan Wells who turned the game on its head with a spectacular knock of 55* off 32. Had it not been for these three, the Strikers would have been at sea. For that matter, the trio had scored the bulk of the runs for the Strikers last season.
Due to bad air quality, the match was abandoned when the Strikers had bowled only 5 overs. Billy Stanlake was the only wicket-taker.
Mitchell Marsh funnily said at the toss that he will bowl only when his big brother Shaun is at the crease. Mitchell lived by his words and the Marsh brothers gave us a nice moment to cherish. Neither Mitchell dismissed Shaun nor Shaun picked a boundary against Mitchell. That being said, Mitchell played a stunning innings of 56 off 22 including 6 sixes. He seems to be in a great touch.
Cameron Bancroft finally found a way to score runs. All he did was play according to the merit of the ball. His variety of strokes helped him fetch a valuable fifty at the top.
Chris Jordan not only takes wickets consistently but also fields at long-on and gives us bonus points for catches. He has thus far taken 4 wickets and 2 catches – one of them being a stunner at the boundary line.
Fawad Ahmed, much like other wrist-spinners is a potential wicket-taker. He took the all-important wickets of Shaun Marsh and Daniel Christian.
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