Melbourne Stars vs Adelaide Strikers match prediction

Melbourne Stars will take on Adelaide Strikers at the Carrara Oval in Queensland on Friday in Match 13 of the 2019-20 edition of the Big Bash League.

Merry Christmas folks! It is indeed weird to have a weekday without BBL action, but the players deserve their due rest and hence I guess we can call December 25 as ‘rest day’. But hey, keep in mind that we are one sleep away from Boxing Day and I guess we all can admit that the frenzy Boxing Day brings about is unmatched. But my focus today is not going to be on Boxing Day and instead on the BBL. Of course, I’m talking about Friday’s encounter between Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers. I’m going to be a really nice Santa and give you Christmas presents in the form of GUARANTEED winning bets, so let’s unwrap the presents right away.

Value on the Stars H2H

Melbourne Stars to have the highest opening partnership @ 1.80

It took one match for the Melbourne Stars’ opening partnership to warm-up to pick up from right where they left off last season, but boy didn’t they announce their arrival in style in their last encounter versus the Hurricanes. The duo of Nic Maddinson and Marcus Stoinis put on 81 runs for the first wicket, a partnership which eventually turned out to be a match-winning knock. In the last 3 matches of the previous season, they averaged 41.6 for the first-wicket, an attribute that was a vital clog to them reaching the final. Adelaide, in stark contrast, have been dismal up front, having posted opening partnerships of 3 and 0 in their first two games. With Alex Carey down the order, new recruit Phillip Salt - with scores of 2 and 0 - has been struggling to cope, big time. In H2H clashes, the Stars openers have embarrassingly outperformed their Striker counterparts, having averaged 55 in their last 3 clashes compared to the Strikers’ 24. In fact, the Stars openers put on a 113-run stand in the two teams’ last H2H clash and in each of their last 2 H2H clashes have put on at least 50. The contrasting forms of Stoinis and Salt make believe that yet again, on Friday, we will see the Stars openers outperform their counterparts.

Stoinis vs Hulk - we are looking at a tie?

Marcus Stoinis to score more runs than Ben Dunk @ 1.72

The one thing, as an opposition, you don’t want to be coming up against is a raging Marcus Stoinis. It looked like the Australian selectors brought out the ‘Hulk’ within him when he was dropped from the ODI squad for the India tour. The all-rounder brutalized the Hurricanes bowling in the last match, tonking the bowlers en route an unbeaten 81. But he seems to love the BBL, doesn't he? Last season, Stoinis was the third-highest run-getter, amassing a staggering 533 runs at an average of 53.30. In fact, the last time he faced the Strikers, Stoinis scored a fifty. Ben Dunk, on the other hand, has been struggling to get going, big time, having registered scores of just 19 and 11 in the first two games of the season. It has been a struggle for Dunk in BBL of late, having averaged just 18.28 in 25 matches since the start of the 2017/18 season. On top of this, Stoinis, with 143 runs, is also the third-highest run scorer in H2H games between these two teams (all-time) and well, judging by current form, the Stoin slam-dunking Mr. Dunk seems like an inevitable outcome.

Melbourne Stars are unbeaten at the Carrara Oval in Queensland

Melbourne Stars to win the game @ 1.66

Every now and then, you look at a team and go “How have they never won a title?”. Melbourne Stars are that team. Every single time they’ve ended up choking and falling short, but their beauty lies in their consistency and the one thing they’ve done season after season is just pile up wins - at least in the group stage. After their heartbreak in the final last year, they’ve started off this season in rollicking fashion, having won both their first two games by decimating their opponents. The Strikers, too, have started off the season well and were, in a way, unlucky to have seen their first game get abandoned. When it comes to H2H, though, these teams are almost inseparable. The Stars have a very small edge, leading the overall H2H 5-4, but in the last 3 seasons, both teams have won two games each. The Stars did, however, win the two teams’ last H2H clash in Moe last season, thrashing the Strikers by 43 runs. Come Friday, the deciding factor of this contest might very well be the ground, Carrara Oval in Queensland, where the Stars have a 100% record. With Maxwell, Stoinis, Maddinson - and even newcomer Haris Rauf - all in tremendous nick, my faith is on the Green team to walk away from the Carrara Oval victorious.