Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers (Source: Matt King/Getty Images and Will Russell - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

The Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 is set for a grand opening as the tournament will kick-start with an enthralling contest between Perth Scorchers (SCO) and Sydney Sixers (SIX) in the Match No. 1 at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, December 14. These are the same sides that met in the final of the first-ever BBL in 2011-12.

The Perth Scorchers had a pretty average campaign in the previous season of the marquee tournament, as they failed to qualify after finishing fifth on the table with just four wins out of their ten league stage matches. This time round, though, the Ashton Turner-led side will be aiming to start the new season with an eye on the trophy, and the road to that will commence with the Sunday outing.

The Sydney Sixers, on the other hand, looked absolutely magnificent in the 2024-25 season, finishing second on the points table. However, they lost the plot in the knockout stages of the tournament, meaning an undesirable exit. The upcoming season, though, will give them the perfect opportunity to go the distance, for which they will have to set their tempo high with a win against the Perth-based side.

Match Details

Match	Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers, Match 1, BBL 2025-26
Date and Time (IST)	Sunday, December 14; 1:45 PM
Venue	Perth Stadium, Perth
Broadcast and live-streaming details	JioStar Network Channels and JioHotstar (App and Website)

Perth Stadium — Pitch Report

The Perth Stadium in Perth has been a very balanced surface, assisting both pacers and spinners evenly. However, the pitch gets better to bat on as the game progresses, and teams batting second gain a better advantage to win the match. A total ranging anything above 190-200 can be considered a winning total on this surface, going by history.

SCO vs SIX — Head-to-Head Record in T20s

Matches Played	29
SCO Won	16
SIX Won	12
Tied / No Results	1
First-ever fixture	January 18, 2012
Most-recent fixture	January 11, 2025

SCO vs SIX — Predicted Playing 11s Perth Scorchers

Ashton Turner (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Finn Allen (wicketkeeper), Laurie Evans, Cooper Connolly, Ashton Agar, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Nick Hobson, Lance Morris, Mahli Beardmann

Sydney Sixers

Babar Azam, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (captain), Josh Philippe (wicketkeeper), Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Sean Abbott, Kane Richardson, Jafer Chouhan, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy

SCO vs SIX — Probable Top Performers Probable Best Batter — Babar Azam

Pakistan's Babar Azam will be featuring in the Big Bash League for the first time, and he has already garnered a lot of attention for his participation. While there are no doubts on his abilities as an opener, it will be interesting to see if he can set the tempo right with his maiden outing in the arguably second-best cricket league in the world after IPL. Babar is expected to have his marauding blade do the talking tonight.

Probable Best Bowler — Lance Morris Lance Morris. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Lance Morris was among the hottest picks for the Scorchers during their previous season. In the eight games that the pacer featured in, he took an impressive 15 wickets at an astonishing average of just 16.86, while also stemming the flow of runs from his end. His express pace will be the key to the Ashton Turner-led side getting early breakthroughs in this upcoming fixture.

Today Match Prediction: Chasing team to win the match