BBL 7, Final, Preview: Favourites Adelaide Strikers play the misfiring Hurricanes

After a grueling tussle of 6 weeks, BBL 7 has finally had its two finalists in the form of the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes who will lock horns with each other at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow. The Hurricanes will be coming into this match with some nice momentum as they registered a thumping win over the reigning champions and the tournament favorites the Perth Scorchers in the 1st semi-final. In short, it will be the quintessential battle for Australia.

The Adelaide Strikers, on the other hand, had it pretty tough in their semi-final contest against the Melbourne Renegades as they could win it by a slender margin of one run. It was a game which could have gone either way at the end, but the Strikers held their nerves better and earned a crack at the trophy which they thoroughly deserve. The fact that it’s a home final for them gives them a bit of a psychological advantage as well ahead of the game and they will like to capitalize on it.

Playing Combination

Adelaide Strikers

The big news ahead of the final is that both Travis Head and Alex Carey will play for the Strikers. They featured for Australia today in a T20I against New Zealand, but are going to be released and will join the Strikers squad for the mega clash tomorrow before returning to the Australian squad again for the next T20I game in Hobart.

However, Rashid Khan, the overseas signing who has made a major difference with the ball this season, is not going to be available for the Strikers as he has been called back by Afghanistan for international matches. Rashid has been replaced in the squad by Nick Hunter who is a young talented seam bowler, but the absence of the leg-spinner will be missed dearly by the Strikers as he was their wicket-taking option in the middle overs and had been very consistent in the tournament.

Predicted XI: Travis Head (C), Alex Carey, Wes Agar, Jono Dean, Colin Ingram, Ben Laughlin, Jake Lehmann, Michael Neser, Peter Siddle, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter

Hobart Hurricanes

Talking about the Hurricanes, they will be able to avail the services of their opener D’Arcy Short who is also a part of the Australian T20 squad taking part in the ongoing triangular series and, just like Head and Carey, has been granted permission to play the final. He will make it to the Hurricanes squad after the New Zealand game.

Short had not played against the Scorchers and it was Matthew Wade who had opened the innings with Tim Paine, but with the dashing left-hander coming back now, Wade is likely to be pushed down to 3 and the Hurricanes will go with the left-right combo of Short and Paine at the top of the order. Short will take Nathan Reardon’s place in the XI and that should be the only change for the Hurricanes.

Predicted XI: George Bailey (C), Jofra Archer, Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Alex Doolan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Tim Paine, Clive Rose, D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade

Focus will be on

Ben Laughlin (Adelaide Strikers)

Ben Laughlin has been very reliable with the ball for the Strikers. He is an experienced campaigner and has used his experience to good effect to seize the crunch moments for his team this season. He has got good control over his variations and also the ability to read the batsman’s mind quickly which makes him a wonderful T20 bowler. Travis Head will be expecting a good show from him tomorrow.

Ben McDermott (Hobart Hurricanes)

Ben McDermott has been an absolute revelation for the Hurricanes. He has time and again provided the impetus to the innings coming in the middle overs. He is a wonderful timer of the ball and is capable of hitting the big shots against both spin as well as quick bowlers. In the semi-final as well, the 23-year old scored a sensational half-century to help drag the Hurricanes score to 210 which proved to be a match-winning score by quite a distance at the end. The right-hander will once again be the man to watch out for.

Head to Head

Total games played – 9| Adelaide Strikers won – 5| Hobart Hurricanes won – 3| No Result – 1

Timings of the match: 11:00 AM IST

Broadcast Details

TV – SonyESPN

Live streaming – SonyLIV