It's a bottom of the table clash on Monday in the Big Bash League as Hobart Hurricanes take on Adelaide Strikers at the Bellerive Oval in what is going to be a crucial match for both the teams. The Hurricanes and the Strikers currently rank 6th and 7th in the points table after winning one and losing two matches from three games and both teams are in desperate need of points at this stage.
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Since defeating Sydney Sixers in their first match of the tournament, Hobart Hurricanes have not been able to continue that winning mentality in their following two games, losing to Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat. Despite a poor show in their last two matches, the Hurricanes will be positive going into this match considering how well their batsmen have been performing.
Their captain Tim Paine has been their star performer with the bat so far scoring 63 and 91 runs in his first two matches so far. D'Arcy Short and George Bailey are the other two batsmen who have been on a good run recently and they will need them to fire on all cylinders if they are to bounce back after two consecutive defeats. Sri Lankan veteran batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been really disappointing so far and needs to put in a much better performance after scoring just 43 runs so far this season.
Two of their top bowlers in Shaun Tait and Stuart Broad will really have to set up the match. The duo has picked up seven wickets between them so far this season, but the reason they lost their last two matches was because they have given away too many runs. Cameron Boyce is another bowler the Hurricanes will be heavily reliant on and he has been consistent so far picking up a wicket a match so far.
After starting this Big Bash League season on a disappointing note by losing the first two matches, the Strikers bounced back in their third match against the Sixers after they defeated them by a huge margin of 48 runs.
The Strikers will be looking up to Ben Dunk and Jake Weatherald once again for runs. Despite losing their first match, the duo had a fine start to the tournament scoring 85 and 52 runs, respectively, but since that match, they have not been able to replicate that form. In their most recent win against the Sixers, Brad Hodge opened the innings along with Weatherald and he put in a decent shift scoring 36 runs. Kieron Pollard, who is known for his big hitting, has been very quiet this season and the Strikes will really need him to start scoring when required if they are to build on their win.
Adelaide Strikers' bowling has been decent this season, especially Chris Jordan, who has picked up six wickets so far. Billy Stanlake is another bowler the Strikers will be relying on for wickets after he picked up three wickets in their win against Sydney Sixers.
Squads:
Adelaide Strikers: Jake Weatherald, Ben Dunk(w), Travis Head, Brad Hodge(c), Jake Lehmann, Kieron Pollard, Chris Jordan, Ben Laughlin, Tom Andrews, Liam O'Connor, Billy Stanlake, Jon Holland, Tim Ludeman, Adil Rashid, Kane Richardson, Craig Simmons, Kelvin Smith, Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Jonathon Dean, Michael Neser
Hobart Hurricanes: D'Arcy Short, Tim Paine(w/c), George Bailey, Cameron Boyce, Stuart Broad, Daniel Christian, Ben McDermott, Dominic Michael, Simon Milenko, Sam Rainbird, Jake Reed, Clive Rose, Kumar Sangakkara, Shaun Tait, Jonathan Wells, James Bazley, Hamish Kingston, Beau Webster
The Big Bash League 2016-17 match between Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes is set to start at 19:10 local (08:10 GMT | 13:40 IST)
Where to watch
India: Star Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.com
Australia: TV: Network Ten. Live Streaming: Bigbash.com.au
United Kingdom: Sky Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports
USA and Canada: Willow TV
South Africa: Supersport
