The Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers will meet in a high-stakes BBL semi-final today, putting together the two best sides from the competition. All eyes will be on Babar Azam.
The Scorchers ended on top of the points table with 14 points, with seven wins in ten games with an excellent net run rate of 1.363.
The Sixers closely followed with 13 points, six wins, three losses and one no-result, with a net run rate of 0.605.
Both teams made their way to the playoffs with solid performances, so the play off will be very competitive – the victor goes to the grand finale.
Perth enter semi-final in scintillating form, winners of their last four matches. Finn Allen has been lethal at the top of the order scoring 381 runs in nine games at an astonishing strike rate of 189.55 during the season and Aaron Hardie brings stability and power with 317 runs at an average of 45.29.
Mitchell Marsh is leading his team with authority, and the bowlers of the Scorchers have been delivering, which complements the superiority of the batters.
The Sixers have also been in good form winning their last four matches. Josh Philippe’s aggressive starts together with the leadership of Moises Henriques have helped them efficiently chase down targets.
However, Babar Azam, one of the slowest batters in this season’s BBL, is still struggling. In ten matches, he has had to total 202 runs at an average of 25.25 with a strike-rate of a mere 104.12.
His lack of acceleration adds additional pressure on the team when it comes to crucial chases, and fans will be watching intently to see if he takes a step up in this knockout, or disappoints again.
Recent head to heads reveal a neck to neck competition. In the past five encounters, the Sixers do have a narrow advantage, as they won three times, while the Scorchers won two, including the most recent match, in December 2025.
This gives Perth a psychological boost, although with both sides walking with momentum, the semi-final remains unpredictable.
With the momentum of the Scorchers and smart cricket of the Sixers under pressure, the match promises to be a match of quality and good cricket.
Babar Azam’s performances could well be the deciding factor for the future of the Sixers – will he end up producing his best yet or will the dominant form of the Scorchers prove too much for him to overcome?
Also read: Babar Azam’s poor form continues in BBL
