BBL 2016-17: Top 5 moments from the Sydney Thunder-Brisbane Heat clash
Match No.8 of this season’s Big Bash League turned out to be the most thrilling match of the season so far with the Brisbane Heat registering their second successive win of the season against the defending champions Sydney Thunder, who are yet to win a match this season
Brisbane Heat skipper Brendon McCullum won the toss and put the Sydney Thunder in to bat. After a disastrous start, the Thunder’s innings was rescued by a half-century from England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and a six-ball cameo of 22 by Chris Green that helped them to a respectable total of 157/7.
In reply, the Heat got off to a disastrous start and were reeling at 63/6. At this point, it seemed like Sydney Thunder would finally register their first victory of the competition but last year’s Player of the Tournament Chris Lynn had other ideas.
The 26-year-old Queenslander played a superb knock of 85 off just 48 deliveries to take the Heat past the finish line with two balls to spare. Lynn was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant effort and Brisbane moved to the top of the table with their second successive victory.
Brief Scores: Sydney Thunder - 157/7 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan-52, Samuel Badree- 20/2); Brisbane Heat - 160/7 in 19.4 overs (Chris Lynn- 85*, Fawad Ahmed- 19/2).
Here are the top 5 moments from the match:
#5 Sydney Thunder’s disastrous form continues
Reigning champions Sydney Thunder suffered their third consecutive defeat of the season as they were beaten by Brisbane Heat in a thrilling encounter. The Thunder had a pretty sloppy time in the field as they dropped three easy catches which eventually cost them the match.
Sydney’s batting has been a major issue more than their bowling. While they have taken wickets prolifically in almost every match, their batsmen are yet to click with only opener Ryan Gibson and Eoin Morgan showing signs of consistency.
Another major issue for the reigning champions has been their dismal bowling in the final overs. While they have gotten good starts during the early overs, their bowling suffers a dip during the death overs. Even in today’s match, they took a beating during the slog overs which eventually led to their defeat.
The Sydney Thunder have had a dismal tournament so far and if they are to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals then they will have to regroup fast.