BBL 2018-19, Match 20: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Gold Coast will be hosting the fixture between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder in one of the two BBL games on Saturday. The Stars, who lost their first two matches, bounced back with consecutive wins in the next two. However, the Stars will lose the services of Sandeep Lamichhane as the Nepal star is set to feature in the Bangladesh Premier League starting on Saturday. England international Liam Plunkett will replace Sandeep. Liam Bowe has also been named in the Stars’ squad.

The Sydney Thunder, on the other hand, have won three of the five matches they played thus far. All their three wins came while defending the totals. The all-rounder Daniel Sams, who started the tournament with a bang, couldn’t continue his consistency. He and Jos Buttler will be the crucial ones for the Thunder in the upcoming matches. They have made one change to the squad with Jay Lenton coming in as a replacement for Arjun Nair.

Match Details:

The 20th match of the Big Bash League (BBL) will be played between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.

The match starts at 5:15 PM local time (7:15 AM GMT) (12:45 PM IST).

The game will be live on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD in India. Live streaming is available on Sony Liv.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The pitch in the Carrara Oval has a bit of grip for the spinners. The abrasive surface here even witnessed Tom Curran extracting reverse swing late in the innings. In the three T20s hosted by the Carrara Oval this season, the 108 (10 overs), 159 (19 overs) and 164 (20 overs) have been recorded. The most recent was the only game that the chasing side won.

Squads:

Melbourne Stars:

Glenn Maxwell (C), Michael Beer, Jackson Bird, Scott Boland, Liam Bowe, Dwayne Bravo, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Nick Larkin, Liam Plunkett, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.

Sydney Thunder:

Shane Watson (C), Fawad Ahmed, Jos Buttler, Jono Cook, Callum Ferguson, Chris Green, Jay Lenton, Nathan McAndrew, Joe Root, Sam Rainbird, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha.

Injury and Availability Updates after the announcement of the squads:

(Will be updated when there is an update)

Power Picks:

Stars failed to use Marcus Stoinis in the earlier games where the all-rounder didn’t even get a chance to roll his arm. However, in the previous fixture, Stoinis opened the innings to score a fifty and bowled in as early as powerplay to pick up a couple of wickets. He is a sure-shot in everyone’s fantasy team after the recent move by his team.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Marcus Stoinis and Jos Buttler will be ideal for the multiplier options in the current form. Maxwell and Bravo will be ideal alternatives while Sams can’t be ignored despite his last three match performances.

Playing XI #1 for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Jos Buttler (VC)

Batters – Glenn Maxwell, Callum Ferguson, Nick Larkin

All-Rounders – Marcus Stoinis (C), Dwayne Bravo, Daniel Sams

Bowlers – Fawad Ahmed, Chris Green, Adam Zampa, Liam Plunkett

Playing XI #2 for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Ben Dunk (VC)

Batters – Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson (C), Joe Root, Nick Larkin

All-Rounders – Marcus Stoinis (C), Dwayne Bravo

Bowlers – Fawad Ahmed, Chris Green, Adam Zampa, Jono Cook

Expert Advice:

The most important players from this game – Buttler, Watson, Ferguson, Bravo, Stoinis, Maxwell, Zampa and Sams might not fit in the same playing XI as each of them is over nine credits including a couple of them with 10 and more.

Probable Winners:

Sydney Thunder might benefit from the conditions at the Carrara Oval due to three spinners in their XI.

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