BBL 2018-19, Match 33, Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder, Match Prediction - Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Both the teams are coming off thumping victories.

Published - 16 Jan 2019, 14:22 IST | Updated - 16 Jan 2019, 14:22 IST

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The ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) season will see the Brisbane Heat hosting the Sydney Thunder at the iconic Gabba on Thursday. The race to qualify for the knockout stages has heated up now as the Heat seemed to have found their mojo finally after losing the first three matches. They have now only lost a solitary game in last four outings and would love to continue in the same vein. The Thunder, however, are aware of the fact that they can get close to the top spot with a win in this game.

Chris Lynn has been in great form for the Heat and he will cherish coming back to the venue where his bat does the talking more often than not. The team is coming off a thumping 101-run victory over the Renegades on Sunday. If they continue to play the same way for the remainder of the season, the Heat will definitely make it to the semi-finals this time around.

Shane Watson-led Thunder are giving some serious competition to the top teams this year. They are currently at the second position in the points table with four wins in eight matches and will have to play some flawless cricket to stay in the top half. Even they thumped the Strikers by 71 runs on Sunday and what better than having their skipper back in form!

Pitch and Conditions

The two matches at The Gabba so far this season have witnessed scores of under 150 in the first innings and the chasing has been very easy at the venue. The teams will not have even a second thought before opting to bowl first. The long boundaries are making it tough for the batting first sides to assess a good score. The temperature will hover in the mid-20s throughout the match duration with no possibility of rain.

Team Combinations

Brisbane Heat

The Heat will miss the services of Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw who are part of the tour game against Sri Lanka. Sam Heazlett and Mark Steketee have been included in the 13-man squad. However, the former might slot back straight into the line-up for Renshaw with the rest of the line-up doing well. Max Bryant and Brendon McCullum will open the innings while Lynn and Cutting will follow them.

Mitchell Swepson and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have done well with their spin-bowling while the likes of Josh Lalor and Brendon Doggett are decent pacers.

Probable XI: Max Bryant, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn (c), Sam Heazlett, Ben Cutting, Alex Ross, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Josh Lalor, Brendon Doggett, Mitchell Swepson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Sydney Thunder

Ryan Gibson has been added to the 13-man squad replacing Jason Sangha who is also part of the three-day game against the visiting Sri Lanka side. Gibson might slot back in straightaway as Sangha provided solidity with the bat. The rest of the line-up looks solid for the Thunder with Anton Devcich and Watson at the top and Callum Ferguson following them.

In the bowling department, everyone is doing well and the team might continue with their three-spinner strategy which they’ve employed whole season so far.

Probable XI: Shane Watson (c), Anton Devcich, Callum Ferguson, Ryan Gibson, Daniel Sams, Arjun Nair, Jay Lenton (wk), Chris Green, Chris Jordan, Fawad Ahmed, Gurinder Sandhu.