Hobart Hurricanes will clash against Melbourne Stars in their second match of their Men's Big Bash League 2025 campaign. The game is scheduled to take place at the MCG in Melbourne on Thursday, 18th December. Hobart Hurricanes Hobart Hurricanes started their title defence with a repeat of last year's final, beating the Sydney Thunder team by 4 wickets. While bowling first, they restricted the Thunders to 180 for 6 in the first innings. Chris Jordan and Ben Stanley delivered a terrific bowling spell, taking three and two wickets in their spells, respectively. With good contributing knocks from their top-order of Mitch Owen, Nikhil Choudhary and Ben Dermott helped the team sealed their first match this season. Melbourne Stars The Melbourne Stars will be back in the fresh season with their determined motive to deliver an improvised performance this time. Marcus Stoinis will be seen leading the side once again, along with some prominent international figures and young rising talents from the domestic circuit. Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell and Thomas Rogers will be taking care of the batting segment. In the spin department, Hamish McKenzie and Mitchell Swepson will feature. While Haris Rauf, Peter Siddle will take care of the bowling. HH vs MS Match Details HH vs MS BBL Match Details Match Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Stars 5th Match Date and Time Thursday, December 18; 1:45 p.m. IST Venue M.C.G, Melbourne Broadcasting and live streaming TV-Star Sports Network; Livestream-JioHotstar HH vs MS Pitch Report The surface at the MCG usually has a balanced pitch, which offers some assistance for both batters and bowlers. Seamers might receive some movement in the initial few overs, along with some movement. Once the players get set, batting becomes easier. The outfield is fast, and spinners might come into play in the middle overs. The average first innings total here is 170, which suggests that batting would be easier in the first innings. HH vs MS Weather Report The weather is expected to remain clear throughout the match, with warm and pleasant weather. The temperature is likely to be around 21-23°C. The conditions are likely to be windy, with a wind speed of around 20kmph. HH vs MS Head-to-Head Records HH vs ST head-to-head (in T20s) Match Played 22 Won by Hobart Hurricanes 8 Won by Melbourne Stars 14 Tied 0 No Result 0 HH vs MS 5th BBL Probable XI Hobart Hurricanes: Mitchell Owen, Ben Stanlake, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben McDermott, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Chris Jordan, Nathan Ellis (c), Riley Meredith, Rishad Hossain. Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, Haris Rauf, Shimron Harper (wk), Tom Curran, Mitchell Swepson, Thomas Rogers, Campbell Kellaway, Hilton Cartwright, Austin Anlezark Players To Watch Out For In the HH vs MS 5th BBL Match Nikhil Chaudhary | HH-W: The right-arm middle-order basher will be one player to watch out for in this game. He is someone who has been performing brilliantly in the domestic circuit lately and has been a crucial part of the Hobart team setup. He has featured in 21 matches of the BBL so far and has scored 327 runs and also scalped 9 wickets at an economy of 7.65. Glenn Maxwell | ST-W: Glenn Maxwell is a big name for this club; he has always delivered his best in high-stakes, crucial matches. He has consistently done well for the team throughout these years with his all-around skills. He took the tournament by storm in the last season, scoring back-to-back three half-centuries and contributing to the Stars' success. He had scored 325 runs with a strike rate of 186.78 and an average of 54.17. He will be a player to watch out for. HH vs MS Toss Prediction Historical Toss-Winning Stats at the Venue In the last 3 T20 matches played at this venue, the team winning the toss has opted to bowl first on all three occasions. Advantages of Bowling First on This Pitch In 106 men's T20 matches played at this venue so far, the team batting first has recorded 46 victories, while the team chasing has won in 58 matches. This trend suggests that teams should prefer to bowl first and focus on chasing. HH vs MS Today's Match Scenario Scenario 1 Toss Winner: HH (opts to bowl first) Power-Play Score: 40-42 MS Total: 170-180 Match Winner: Hobart Hurricanes Scenario 2 Toss Winner: MS (opts to bowl first) Power-Play Score: 40-45 HH Total: 155-165 Match Winner: Melbourne Stars Who will win today's HH vs MS 5th BBL T20 match? Both teams will be aiming for a strong winning momentum in their new season as they are equipped with a strong batting lineup, middle-order strength and bowling depth. However, the Melbourne Stars will have an upper hand going into this match and are likely to win this match, and they have won three out of the last five encounters against the Hurricanes side. And having this match at their home is what makes them more likely to win this game.