The Big Bash League 2018-19 has reached its business end and the line-up for the semi-finals is ready. Hobart Hurricanes will take on Melbourne Stars in the first semi-final on Thursday, February 14, 2019, at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
Live updates:
Hurricanes 66/3
The match will begin at 7:30 PM AEST, 8:30 AM GMT.
The second semifinal will be played between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers on February 15 in Melbourne.
BBL Finals 2019 broadcast
Fox Sports and Seven Network will broadcast the BBL Finals 2019 in Australia. BT Sport will telecast the matches in the United Kingdom. Sony Six will televise the games in India. Foxtel Sports, SonyLiv, and Kayo Sports will stream the matches live on their websites.
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First Semifinal preview
Hobart Hurricanes finished at the top of the points table during the league stages with 10 wins from 14 matches. On the other hand, Melbourne Stars finished fourth on the points table with seven wins from their 14 games.
Hurricanes will start as the favourites after playing really well during the league stages. Their recent overseas recruit Qais Ahmed has had a good start in the BBL while Jofra Archer remains one of their key players. D'Arcy Short and Matthew Wade have batted really well during the league stages and Hurricanes will hope they come good in the BBL Finals. Ben McDermott and George Bailey will be critical as well.
With the return of the international players, Melbourne looks like a more formidable side. Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell make Stars look like a force to reckon with. Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and Dwayne Bravo have proved to be really good as the overseas players and they will have key roles in the BBL Finals as well.
If Stars have to do well, they need their international stars to perform well and get them across the line.
The Hobart pitch has hosted some of the good scoring matches in this season, and the first semifinal might just be another one. The short square boundaries aid the batsmen pretty much as the outfield is one of the quickest in Australia.
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