Thunder vs Sixers BBL tips, odds & value bets – Dec 26, 2021

Arch-rivals Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers are set to face one another on Sunday afternoon as the first part of a double-header on Boxing Day in the BBL.

The Thunder broke a two-game losing streak when dominating from first ball to last against the Brisbane Heat last time out. Sam Billings (64), Jason Sangha (39), Alex Hales (35) and Matthew Gilkes (28) all contributed to help the Thunder to a score of 7/196. With their top four firing, perhaps the Thunder are well-placed to give the Sixers a bit of a fright on Sunday night.

Led by Saqib Mahmood on his Thunder debut (4/22) and young leggie Tanveer Sangha (3/26) the Thunder never looked like losing to the Heat, especially when they had their opponents 7/60 in the ninth over. If the Thunder can have another all-round performance against the Sixers like they did with the Heat, then an upset could be on the cards.

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However, the Sydney Sixers are a serious team. Led by skipper Moises Henriques and keeper-batsman Josh Philippe, the Sixers continually perform with the bat. In their recent performance against the Strikers, Henriques (28) and Philippe (23) were aided by solid knocks from Jordan Silk (36), James Vince (21) and Sean Abbott (19 not out) when chasing down 148.

Despite their prowess with bat in hand, the Sixers are seemingly vulnerable with the ball. With Steve O’Keefe out through injury, the spin is left to the inconsistent Lloyd Pope and following the departure of Chris Jordan, the Sixers may struggle with the ball. However, Sean Abbott is their key and if he takes early wickets like he did when taking 3/24 against the Strikers, then the Sixers may just be too good when it matters most against their cross-town rivals.

Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers betting predictions

Match result: Sydney Sixers

The Sydney Sixers are seemingly the only team that look capable of challenging the Perth Scorchers for the BBL11 championship. The Sixers have won six of their past seven matches dating back to BBL10 and on the back of chasing a tricky total of 147 against the Strikers and 177 set by the Stars, they look to be in tip top shape for Sunday’s clash. Considering the form of Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques with the bat and Sean Abbott with the ball, the Sixers will be confident of getting the better of the Thunder once again.

Top Sydney Thunder runscorer: Alex Hales

The BBL’s leading runscorer in BBL10 has slowly been building his form through the new season, with a season high 35 against the Brisbane Heat last time out. He averages a tick over 32 with the bat in the Big Bash and has been the Thunder’s highest runscorer in both of the last two encounters against the Sixers. He scored 110 and 54 in both of the matches last season between these two sides and we expect to see him dominate the Sixers bowling attack once again.