BBL 2025/26 | Match 38: Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades | Preview and Predictions
The Adelaide Strikers will take on the Melbourne Renegades in Match 38 of the 2025/26 KFC Big Bash League season at the Adelaide Oval on January 17, 2026.
With both teams coming off disappointing defeats in their respective previous games, their play-off fate is sealed and there isn’t much to play for in this game except a higher finish in the league table, with both teams sitting on six points.
Here, we present our preview and predictions for Match 38 of BBL|15.
BBL|15 Match 38: Strikers vs Renegades | 11:30 IST, January 17, 2026
Having failed to build any momentum, their last match against the Melbourne Stars was a must-win contest given how precariously they were placed in the points table. However, another disappointing showing by their batters was the final nail in the coffin, and the Adelaide Strikers were bundled out for a mere 83 in the 20th over.
In the batting department, only 25-year-old all-rounder Liam Scott and skipper Matthew Short have delivered runs on a consistent basis with 292 and 250 runs, respectively. Apart from Short, Scott, and Chris Lynn, no other batter in the Strikers line-up has been able to cross the 100-run mark, and even Lynn got into triple figures thanks to his one-off 79-run knock. However, with pressure lifted off their shoulders now, they may finally come good at home.
In the bowling department, Lloyd Pope has been the Strikers’ best bowler with 13 wickets at an economy of 8.5. The overseas pace trio of Luke Wood, Hasan Ali, and Jamie Overton, after going for plenty against the Perth Scorchers, did well to delay the Stars’ win with tight and accurate bowling while also picking up the wickets.
Their opponents, the Melbourne Renegades, are also out of the running for the play-off spots, having been comprehensively beaten in their last game by the Perth Scorchers. Their bowlers failed to restrict the opposition batters, whose efforts included an incredible 101 off 53 by Finn Allen, while their own batting unit once again failed to live up to the pressure.
In the batting department, the Renegades’ openers have done a commendable job for the most part this season, with Josh Brown sitting on 305 runs as the team’s leading run-scorer, while Tim Seifert sits in second place with 285 runs. However, the rest of the batters have been inconsistent throughout the campaign. Among key players, Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has had a season to forget, having managed just 170 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of just over 100.
Similar to their batting unit, the Renegades’ bowling attack has also failed to deliver this season. Apart from Gurinder Sandhu, who is just levels above anybody else at the moment with 18 wickets in nine matches, the rest of the bowlers haven’t been able to pick up regular wickets or stem the flow of runs. After Sandhu, skipper Will Sutherland is their next highest wicket-taker with seven, followed by Adam Zampa with six.
In terms of weather forecast and pitch report for this game, the weather is expected to be clear and pleasant. The pitch remains hard and true throughout the game, and it is evident from the fact that three out of the four BBL|15 matches at Adelaide Oval have been won by the chasing side, so it’s fair to assume that the team winning the bat flip will look to bowl first.
Looking ahead to this fixture, with elimination already sealed and delivered, both sides come into this fixture with one eye on the things that have gone wrong and the other on the things that they can improve upon next season. Although both teams are tied on six points, looking at their current form and squads, the Melbourne Renegades hold the edge in our eyes.
Fantasy XI: Alex Carey, Tim Seifert, Matthew Short, Josh Brown (c), Liam Scott (vc), Hassan Khan, Jamie Overton, Will Sutherland, Gurinder Sandhu, Lloyd Pope, Adam Zampa
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Winners Prediction: Melbourne Renegades
