Melbourne Stars will look to secure a home semifinal on Thursday when they will take on Brisbane Heat in a crucial Big Bash League (BBL) clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Stars will surely claim the second spot in the BBL 2015-2016 points table if they beat Heat, thanks to their better net run rate than Perth Scorchers.
The Melbourne side made a slow start to the tournament, but the way they turned things around in their favour was indeed remarkable.
Two wins over Melbourne Renegades, one against the Sydney Sixers and finally a victory against the Hurricanes have made them one of the serious contenders for the BBL title.
Meanwhile, Heat have no chance of making it to the semifinal ideally. But technically they still can in case they win their remaining match by a ridiculous margin which is almost next to impossible and that too against the Stars.
Chris Lynn has been the star for the Heat after scoring 322 runs in just seven matches. He will return to the MCG to entertain the crowd on Thursday and fans can surely expect some firework from his bat today.
Stars will miss an array of crucial players for the remainder of the BBL this season. Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Scott Boland and John Hastings are on national duty against India in the ODI series. Ben Hifenhaus will lead the bowling attack in the absence of Boland and Hastings.
Melbourne Stars will start as favourites in front of a big crowd at the MCG. Heat, on the other hand, have made no changes to their side from their last game.
Squads:
Melbourne Stars: David Hussey (C), Michael Beer, Jackson Coleman, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Ben Hilfenhaus, Kevin Pietersen, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright, Adam Zampa
Brisbane Heat: Chris Lynn (C), Samuel Badree, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Andrew Fekete, Jason Floros, Sam Heazlett, James Hopes, Josh Lalor, Jimmy Peirson, Nathan Reardon, Lendl Simmons, Mitch Swepson.
Where to watch live:
The BBL encounter between Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat is scheduled for a 7:40 pm local time (2:10 pm IST, 9:40 am BST and 8:40 am GMT) start. T20 fans in India can tune into Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1.
The fans can also live stream the match on Starsports.com and Hotstar.com.
Fans in Australia, can switch to Fox Sports and Ten Network to catch the live action of Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat.
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat can be live streamed online on Tenplay, Bigbash.com.au and cricket.com.au.
Viewers in UK can tune into Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD 1 to catch the live action of Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat.
Watch Sky Sports will stream the match live in UK.
