Melbourne Renegades take on Sydney Sixers in Match 18 of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21 at the Carrara Oval in a bid to turn things around. The Renegades have lost three in a row after winning their first game, while it is quite the opposite for Sixers, who have now won three on the bounce after a minor setback in their season opener. 

It is the Sixers who have an upper hand when it comes to the overall head-to-head over Renegades, having won eight and lost five in their 13 meetings, which includes a record-breaking 145-run win in their previous meeting earlier this season in Hobart. Sixers have also tasted victories in three out of the last five meetings over the Renegades.

BBL head-to-head

Overall: Matches – 13 | Sixes – 8 Wins | Renegades – 5 Wins

Last 5 Matches: Sixes – 3 Wins | Renegades – 2 Wins

Suggested TeamsWhile you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms we come up with six different teams that could fetch crucial points.

Ground details & team combination

The Carrara Oval in Queensland has something in it for both bowlers and batsmen. In T20s this year, the bowlers have conceded at an economy rate of 8.2 and have picked up a wicket every 21.5 runs, 15.7 balls apart. 

Spin has a huge part to play at this venue. They have fared better than the pacers in T20s in 2020, having picked up a wicket every 12.4 deliveries, 14.8 runs apart and have an impressive economy rate of just 7.2, while the corresponding numbers for pacers is 18.2, 26.2 and 8.8 respectively.

It is advisable to stock your team with some quality spinners. With tweakers like Imad Wasim, Steve O’Keefe, and Peter Hatzoglou among those at your disposal, you could be faced with a healthy headache

The average first innings total at this venue in T20s since 2019 has been 164, but on an average, a target of 165 has been chased down here during this period. The team winning the toss could actually think about putting the opposition in.

There could be some interesting match-ups too

James Vince and Mohammad Nabi have faced each other at the international level, at the PSL and also the Natwest T20 Blast. It is the Afghanistan bowler, who has the upper hand against the England batsman, having dismissed him thrice in four innings. Given that both have been on a lean patch in the last 2-3 games, this battle makes it all the more interesting to see which cricketer will eventually prevail. Vince has scored just 24 runs from 29 balls against Nabi at a lowly average of only eight.

The battle of two veterans – Aaron Finch and Dan Christian – promises to be a mouth-watering one. The duo have faced off on 10 occasions in T20 cricket with the Australia captain having a slight edge. Finch has scored at a strike-rate of 153.3 and has been dismissed just twice by Christian so far. However, it has been over three years since these two have faced-off in a T20 and more than seven years since Christian got the better of Finch. We may see an old rivalry resume at the Carrara Oval on Tuesday.

Captain selection

With scores of 32, 46* and 96* in the last three innings, Sixers captain Daniel Hughes will be the ideal batsman to lead the team. He is also this edition’s leading run-scorer with 183 runs from four innings at an average of 61 and strike-rate of 144.09. Hughes did not have a particularly good outing in the previous edition, which included first-ball duck in the final but looks hell bent on making up for that.

Our Criclytics player projector predicts Hughes could score 12-29 runs in this match.

X-Factors

With eight wickets at 9.62, left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe would be an excellent choice as one of the spinners in your team. O’Keefe has not gone wicketless in his last eight T20s and will come in handy at the Carrara Oval, which has something in it for the spinners as well. Among spinners, only Rashid Khan (17) and Adam Zampa (18) have more wickets than O’Keefe (14) in BBL in 2020.

Our Criclytics player projector predicts O'Keefe could pick up 0-1 wickets in this match.

Even though he has been a tad expensive, leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou has picked up at least two wickets every time he has come on to bowl. The batsmen have found it difficult to pick him with his skiddy deliveries and varied pace. He has picked up six wickets from four matches so far and for someone playing his maiden BBL, he has not done too badly.

Our Criclytics player projector predicts Hatzoglou could pick up 0-1 wickets in this match.

Aaron Finch may not have been in the best of forms in this edition so far, but once he gets a good start, you can bet on him to make it big. In his 10 T20 matches in Australia this year, Finch has managed two scores in excess of 50 with a highest score of 109. His average of 34.22 and strike-rate of over 135 aren’t bad either.

Our Criclytics player projector predicts Hughes could score 13-36 runs in this match.