Defending champions Perth Scorchers will take on the Adelaide Strikers during the 16th match of the ongoing BBL 2022-23 today, at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
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After three back-to-back dominating performances in this season so far, the Strikers were handed their first loss last Friday, against the Brisbane Heat at The Gabba. They will, however, like to take the loss as an exception, as they did battle hard till the very end whilst chasing the target of 167.
ALSO READ: Melbourne Stars versus Sydney Sixers pitch report for today’s BBL 2022-23 match
The Scorchers, on the other hand, must be high-in confidence after their thumping 61-run victory against the Melbourne Stars a couple of days ago. In what was a demonstration of clean hitting of the highest order, they posted the highest team total (229/7) of the season so far with the help of blistering half-centuries off the bats of Faf du Plessis (68 off 33) and Josh Inglis (74 off 33).
Both the teams are pretty much neck-to-neck as far as their head-to-head record of-late is concerned. The Scorchers, however, have won two of the previous three BBL matches against the Strikers.
Perth Stadium pitch report
The pitch at the Perth Stadium is likely to stay conducive enough for the batters throughout the match duration, but the pacers might well do much of the talking with the extra bounce and carry offered by the surface.
16 of the 19 wickets were picked by the pacers and medium pacers during the previous BBL match at this venue between the Scorchers and Sixers.
Moreover, four fast bowlers were in the top-5 list of highest wicket-takers at the Perth Stadium during the T20 World Cup 2022.
Having said that, some invaluable contributions from the lower-middle order batters from both the sides during the previous aforementioned match at this surface, does prove that the pitch does help the batters play their shots through the line while trusting the variable bounce.
All in all, expect score in the vicinity of the 160-run mark as a winning total at the Perth surface today as well.