Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars meet at Bellerive Oval in a Big Bash League 2025-26 knockout game. The Hurricanes began the defence of their title strongly, beating Sydney Thunder by four wickets and winning four of their first five matches. A mid-season dip then dropped them to third. They come in after a narrow three-run defeat to Brisbane Heat in which, chasing 161, they finished on 157 despite half-centuries from Beau Webster and Ben McDermott.
Melbourne Stars finished fourth with six wins and four losses from their 10 matches. They won their opening four games on the trot but have lost some of that early energy. Their latest result was a six-wicket loss to Perth Scorchers, when the batting was bowled out for 130. Marcus Stoinis made a determined 55 off 39 balls, yet the Scorchers reached the target in 16.5 overs and moved to the top of the table.
The Hurricanes’ likely XI mixes the power of Mitchell Owen, Nikhil Chaudhary and McDermott with an attack of Riley Meredith, Billy Stanlake, Chris Jordan and Rishad Hossain. The Stars would count on Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright with the bat, backed by Haris Rauf, Tom Curran and Mitchell Swepson. Powerplay discipline from both bowling groups is likely to shape the outcome.