Warner and Hugh Weibgen are at the crease. Warner is on strike. Tom Curran will open the attack

The conditions are gloomy in Sydney. Is it a good toss to win for the Stars? We'll know soon. Here come the players. Warner will be the key here. Hugh Weibgen is going to partner him in the absence of Konstas.

David Warner: I would have bowled because of the weather.

Marcus Stoinis: We are going to have a bowl. Just seeing how it played last game, we will assess how it plays and take it from there. It has been good to turn it around. Doug Warren comes in for Joel Paris.

Teams:

Melbourne Stars (Playing XI): Sam Harper(w), Thomas Fraser Rogers, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis(c), Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Tom Curran, Usama Mir, Mark Steketee, Doug Warren, Peter Siddle

Sydney Thunder (Playing XI): David Warner(c), Hugh Weibgen, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings(w), Oliver Davies, Chris Green, George Garton, Nathan McAndrew, Tom Andrews, Wes Agar, Tanveer Sangha

Melbourne Stars have won the toss and have opted to field

Marcus Stoinis: We are going to have a bowl. Just seeing how it played last game, we will assess how it plays and take it from there. It has been good to turn it around. Doug Warren comes in for Joel Paris.

What a turnaround it has been from Melbourne Stars. They looked down and out at the halfway mark but things started to change when they got their first win against defending champions - Brisbane Heat. They went on a roll thereafter and the senior players like Stoinis, Maxwell, Webster and Siddle started to perform consistently. But the revelation has been Mark Steketee; he didn't play the first 5 games, came in for the last 5 games, picked up 15 wickets including 9 in the previous two outings. He will be the one to watch out for today.. Sydney Thunder, on the other hand, finished bottom last season but a change in captaincy brought about a change in fortune. David Warner has been at his best and leading from the front, they lost two key players - Bancroft and Sams - at the halfway mark to a horrific collision but that has not stopped them to reach this stage. Now they have a chance to set-up a Sydney Smash for the Challenger encounter.

18:30 Local Time, 07:30 GMT, 14:00 IST: Hello and welcome to the BBL Knockout game between Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars. One team has been consistent through the season while the other has found it at the right time. The Thunder won 4 of their first 5 games and were always pipped to make it to the playoffs, but only 1 win in their last 5 games that includes a couple of washouts has halted their momentum and they're up against a team with plenty of momentum - the Stars had lost their first 5 and needed to win the remaining games to make it to the playoffs, they managed to achieve it and a few other results also went their way. The Stars are the favourites considering their form and momentum but it is at Thunder's home which makes this contest interesting. The bat flip and team news coming up.. Stay tuned

Squads:

Melbourne Stars Squad: Sam Harper(w), Thomas Fraser Rogers, Marcus Stoinis(c), Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb, Hilton Cartwright, Tom Curran, Joel Paris, Usama Mir, Mark Steketee, Peter Siddle, Jonathan Merlo, Doug Warren, Campbell Kellaway

Sydney Thunder Squad: David Warner(c), Hugh Weibgen, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings(w), George Garton, Chris Green, Tom Andrews, Tanveer Sangha, Nathan McAndrew, Mohammad Hasnain, Wes Agar, Oliver Davies, Toby Gray, Blake Nikitaras