The Brisbane Heat take on the Sydney Sixers in the second semi-final of the Big Bash League at The Gabba in Brisbane with the winner of this match set to book a place in the finals where they will face off against the Perth Scorchers after they defeated the Melbourne Stars yesterday.
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The home team finished second on the points table winning five out of a possible eight matches and the away team also finished with the same set of wins. However, an inferior run rate saw the Sixers finish below the Heat.
The Brisbane Heat go into this semi-final encounter on the back of a defeat at the hands of the Melbourne Renegades, while the Sixers defeated the Melbourne Stars to ensure qualification to the semi-finals.
The loss of Chris Lynn, who suffered a neck injury, will be a major disappointment for the home team as he has been one of their top performers this season and now the Brisbane Heat will need to find a suitable replacement for him. Their captain Brendon McCullum will once again be expected to put in a good shift with the bat and along with him the likes of Joe Burns and Ben Cutting can also be lethal with the bat when required.
Bowling will be a major concern for the Brisbane Heat as it has been throughout this season after Samuel Badree got injured, but the West Indian has been deemed fit for this match and along with him Mitchell Swepson and Mark Steketee, who has taken 13 wickets so far, will lead the line with the bowl for the Brisbane Heat.
Despite the backing of the home crowd, the Brisbane Heat will face a really tough task when they take on the Sydney Sixers. The Sydney Sixers were the first team to stop Heat's resurgent run this season. The Sixers lost Jason Roy and Sam Billings who joined up with the England team, but that should not be a major concern for the Sixers as they have more than enough depth as shown from their last match.
Sean Abbott and Johan Botha who combined to put on 59 for the seventh wicket as their side chased down Melbourne Stars.
Sean Abbot has been nothing short of outstanding with the ball for the Sydney Sixers this season picking up 16 wickets so far which is also the most number of wickets taken this season. Ben Dwarshuis has also been impressive with the bowl picking up 12 wickets so far and along with them the experience of Johan Botha, Jackson Bird and Nathan Lyon, the Sixers certainly possess some of the best bowlers and the most balanced bowling attack.
Both teams endured a horrible 2015-16 campaign with the Sydney Sixers finishing at the bottom of the table while the Brisbane Heat finished in 6th place so they will be really determined to at least make the finals this year.
The second semi-final between the Brisbane Heat and the Sydney Sixers is set to start at 16:40 local time (2:10pm IST, 8:30am GMT)
Where to watch
India: Star Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.com
Australia: TV: Network Ten. Live Streaming: Bigbash.com.au
United Kingdom: Sky Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports
USA and Canada: Willow TV
South Africa: Supersport
