The Big Bash is far too even a competition for any team to ever start as short as a $1.50 favourite. The Melbourne Stars are a side that consistently underperform market expectations and the Sydney Thunder have improved as the tournament has gone one. The Thunder are more than capable of winning this game at big odds.
Hyeon Chung is considered one of the next big things on the ATP Tour, but he is coming off a fairly disappointing 2016 and his hold-break percentage on hard courts last year was very poor. Sela is no superstar, but he has a consistent hold-break percentage and he will give Chung plenty of trouble if the South Korean doesn’t perform at his best.
Ivo Karlovic is not the force that he once was and he now relies on his massive first serve more than ever. Karen Khachanov is coming off a very big season and he finished 2016 with a clearly superior hold-break percentage on hardcourts than his rival. Khachanov is great value to progress to the next round of the Qatar Open.