Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Predictions - Curran to crack the Thunder attack

Simon Lewis

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Simon Lewis 1 minute ago

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Sam Curran has scored 25, 38* and 74* in his last four innings.
Sam Billings has scored 190 runs (S/R 132.86) in his last nine innings.
The Sixers are poised for the playoffs, but can the Thunder rise to the challenge by pulling off just their third win of the season?

Sam Curran pulls against the Stars (Getty Images).

Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Predictions

All that’s left for the Thunder is to avoid the embarrassment of being stuck with the wooden spoon after a disastrous season. The Sixers are not in the playoff spots right now, but they have two games left and even one win could see them through. The Thunder could be dangerous with nothing to lose, but I’m backing the Sixers to pull out all the stops to claim the win.

Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Predictions
Head-to-Head
Sydney Sixers Form
Sydney Thunder Form
Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Team News

Sydney Sixers’ Sam Curran scored a match-winning 74* off 51 balls in the ILT20 final.
Sydney Sixers’ Lachlan Shaw has scored 68, 44, 53, 30*, 19 & 24* in his last 6 innings.
Sydney Thunder’s Sam Billings has scored 20, 34 & 33 in his last 4 innings.
Sydney Thunder’s Nic Maddinson has scored 30, 21, 21 & 30* in his last 4 innings.

Head-to-Head

The Sixers have won three and lost one of their last five Big Bash matches against the Thunder, with one match being rained-off.

Sydney Sixers Form

The Sixers completed three wins on the bounce when they beat the Stars by six wickets. Their next match was rained-off.

Babar Azam is a key component of their top order, but he has only scored two half-centuries in eight innings. They will be hoping that he and Steve Smith can form a power-combination at the top of the order. Josh Philippe is their leading run-scorer this season, notching scores of 28, 46, 96 and 35 in his seven innings this season.

Jack Edwards (14 wickets) and Rishad Hossain (13) are the Sixers' leading wicket-takers this season. Edwards has picked up 2/23 and 3/27 in his last three matches, while Hossain has taken 3/26 and 2/27 in his last two appearances.

Sydney Thunder Form

The Thunder ended a five-match losing streak by beating the Renegades by four wickets in a rain-reduced match.

David Warner has been on fire for the Thunder and is third in the runs list with 323 runs at an average of 64.40 (S/R 149.53), but he is in a race against time to prove his fitness for what could be his last professional cricket match. Matthew Gilkes is on 220 runs for the season (S/R 160.58) but he has scored just 55 runs in his last four matches.

Daniel Sams picked up 4/51 against the Scorchers and 3/36 against the Hurricanes and is the Thunder’s leading wicket-taker with 12 victims. Wes Agar and Shadab Khan are both on seven wickets in this season’s Big Bash, but Khan is away on international duty at the moment. Agar has taken 3/16 against the Strikers and 2/23 against the Renegades in his last three matches.

Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Team News

Mitchell Starc is set to step back into the Big Bash for the first time since last season’s tournament. Daniel Hughes returns to the squad after recovering from illness, with Todd Murphy and Jordan Silk dropping out of the squad. Steve Smith scored 19* opening the batting against the Hurricanes before rain ended the contest, and he will be hoping for the chance to fill his boots against the Thunder.

"I love coming back and playing with the guys. They're such a great bunch of people and there’s great energy around the group. As soon as you walk back in there's always smiles, there's always great vibes, so I'm looking forward to the next couple of games. Hopefully we put on a good show and have some fun," said Smith ahead of the clash with the Thunder.

The Thunder have rung the changes for their final match of the campaign in the Sydney derby. Ollie Davies, Blake Nikitaras and Aidan O'Connor come back into the squad in place of David Willey, Charlie Anderson and the injured Cameron Bancroft. David Warner is not yet confirmed fit for action, but he is hoping to be a part of the game.

Sydney Sixers (squad): Sean Abbott, Babar Azam, Sam Curran, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti, Josh Philippe, Lachlan Shaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

Sydney Thunder (squad): Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Sam Billings, Ollie Davies, Chris Green, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Nic Maddinson, Aidan O'Connor, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner (c).

Verdict

Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder

I am backing the Sixers to win, with Sam Curran to top score.

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