Who will win Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers BBL Final?
Sydney Sixers edged out Brisbane Heat in a tense semi-final on Wednesday and have set up a meeting with the Perth Scorchers in the final of the Big Bash League 2016-17. This ultimate showdown will be held on January 28 at the home ground of the Scorchers - Western Australia Cricket Association Ground in Perth. Live action is scheduled to start at 4:15 PM local time.
Toss
Toss is going to be crucial in this big final at the WACA as the last three BBL matches here have been won by the side that has batted second. So there is a good possibility for a team preferring to opt for a chase after winning the toss on Saturday. Perth Scorchers romped home comfortably while chasing against Melbourne Stars in the semi-final at this very ground, making them an attractive bet if they bat second.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, odds and prediction for the final match of Big Bash League 2016-17 between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers....
Perth Scorchers Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Hilton Cartwright is set to replace in-form batsman Shaun Marsh who has earned a call up to Australia's national team for the New Zealand ODI tour. Fast bowler Jason Behrendorff is likely to replace fellow paceman Jhye Richardson who seemed to have injured himself during the semi-final win.
Key Players
The onus will be on Michael Klinger, Ian Bell and Adam Voges to do the job with the bat in the absence of Shaun Marsh. Klinger has scored the most runs for the Scorchers this year BBL and the team will back him for a good performance on the big day. Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Tye have been their best men with the ball. We predict Johnson who finished with 4-2-3-3 in the semi-final to be the most destructive against the Sixers on Saturday.
Recent Form
Perth Scorchers topped the league standings in the inaugural edition of the Big Bash League and they did it again this year as well with five wins from eight games. They have won three out of their last four games and will be coming into this match with a crushing seven-wicket victory over Melbourne Stars in the semi-final.
Perth Scorchers Predicted XI
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SM Whiteman (wk), M Klinger, Hilton Cartwright, AC Voges (c), IR Bell, AJ Turner, AC Agar, AJ Tye, TT Bresnan, MG Johnson and Jason Behrendorff.
Sydney Sixers Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Batsman Colin Munro will miss the big final of BBL as he has found a place in New Zealand's squad for the home ODI series against Australia. Henry Thornton has been named as his replacement while the rest of the team is expected to remain the same.
Key Players
Batting is going to depend mainly on Daniel Hughes and Moises Henriques. While the former is the season's fifth-leading run-getter with 296 runs at an average of 49.33, the latter hit a 34-ball 64 in the semi-final against Brisbane Heat. Nathan Lyon and Sean Abbott both picked up four wickets each in that game. Abbott is leading the wickets charts this season with 20 wickets so far and we predict the fast bowler to carry his wicket-taking form into the final.
Recent Form
Sydney Sixers have played high quality cricket all through the season and they now have four wins in their last five matches. They tied their semi-final match against Brisbane Heat but managed to advance by virtue of a super-over win. Their bowlers have done extremely well this year but it is their batting that really needs to step up.
Sydney Sixers Predicted XI
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DP Hughes, NJ Maddinson, Henry Thornton, MC Henriques (c), MJ Lumb, BJ Haddin (wk), J Botha, SA Abbott, BJ Dwarshuis, NM Lyon and JM Bird.
Key Stats for BBL Final
- This is the fifth time that the Perth Scorchers will be making an appearance in the finals of the Big Bash League while the Sydney Sixers will be making their third.
- The inaugural edition in 2011-12 was won by the Sydney Sixers while Perth Scorchers are two-time champions and the only team to have won back-to-back titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
- Perth Scorchers have faced Sydney Sixers in the finals of the BBL two times in the past and this is the second time that these two teams have set up a final at the WACA.
- Sydney Sixers recorded an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers the last time these two teams squared off in a BBL final at the WACA in 2012.
- The most recent encounter between the two teams in a final of the Big Bash League came in the season before the last at the Manuka Oval where the Perth Scorchers won by four wickets.
- Both Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers have a win percentage of 50 in the finals of the Big Bash League.
Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers Head to Head
Perth Scorchers have beaten Sydney Sixers six times out of nine in the past. Both the teams have won once each in the two matches that have been played at the WACA. Their most recent encounter was seen in the seventh match of the ongoing season where the Sixers outplayed the Scorchers by six wickets.
Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers Betting Odds
Sydney Sixers got the better of Perth Scorchers earlier in the season in one of the league-stage matches where they restricted the latter to just 130 and then chased down the target with ease. So they will be confident of creating an upset when they meet the Scorchers again who this time will be devoid of Shaun Marsh who had recently sprung back into form with two consecutive fifties. But despite of this, betfair and bet365 have the sixers as outsiders at 2.2 and 2.10 respectively. The Scorchers had a flawless semi-final at this ground just three days back and this could be why they are slight favorites to win the final at 1.83 with betfair and 1.80 with bet365.
Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers Final Prediction
Perth Scorchers will be the more confident side ahead of the final on Saturday. They are the most consistent of all the teams with two title triumphs, have been on top of their game finishing as table toppers this year as well and they routed Melbourne Stars in the semi-final not long ago at the WACA. They also have a win percentage of 61.11 against the Sydney Sixers and have beaten them six times in their previous seven face-offs. Sydney Sixers may have been one of the better bowling units this season but they fail to instill much confidence with the bat with only two of their batters having gone past 200 runs. And the departure of Colin Munro is going to deplete their batting even further.
The Scorchers on the contrary have a well balanced side and they still look strong enough even without Shaun Marsh in the squad. Plus, they will have the advantage of playing on their home ground and they have done well here with three wins in their last five games. Though Sydney Sixers might have an outside chance if they are able to deliver a strong batting performance, we predict the two-time champions Perth Scorchers to lift the Big Bash League trophy for the third time.
Final Verdict: Back Perth Scorchers to beat Sydney Sixers in the BBL 2016-17 final at 1.83 with betfair and 1.80 with bet365.
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