Adelaide Strikers knocked out as Brisbane Heat win the Eliminator by 6 wickets
Brisbane Heat emerged victorious in the BBL eliminator as they got the better of Adelaide Strikers by six wickets.
Chasing a modest total of 131 for the win, Brisbane Heat suffered some early setbacks. But they held their nerve to complete the chase. The partnership between Joe Denly (41) and Jimmy Peirson (47*) turned out to be decisive after the Strikers had taken three early wickets.
Earlier, Adelaide Strikers failed to get going in the first innings. The Brisbane Heat spinners tied them on a leash and picked up five of their seven wickets.
Brief BBL score: Adelaide Strikers 130-7 (Weatherald 32, Labuschagne 3-13). Brisbane Heat 131-4 in 18.5 overs (Peirson 47*, Briggs 1-16). The Heat won by six wickets.
Jimmy Peirson and Joe Denly guide Brisbane Heat to a win
The Adelaide Strikers needed to strike early with a small total to defend. They started brilliantly as Michael Neser picked up the crucial wicket of Chris Lynn in the first over.
Wes Agar then dismissed Marnus Labuschagne in the second over as Neser took a fine catch at mid-on. The Strikers made more early inroads. Peter Siddle trapped Sam Heazlett lbw in the fourth over to make the score 23-3.
The Strikers were right in the game, but Joe Denly used his experience to good effect. He formed a decent partnership of 69 with Jimmy Peirson. The two took the score to 68-3 after ten overs. Denly was dismissed in the 14th over by Danny Briggs for a well-made 41.
Joe Burns (17*) then saw out the game alongside Peirson (47*) to help Brisbane Heat chase the total with seven balls to spare.
Adelaide Strikers knocked out of BBL
After winning the toss and batting first, the Adelaide Strikers were off to a cautious start. Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald put up 40 runs in the first seven overs. Carey (13 off 22 balls) was then sent packing by Mitchell Swepson.
After ten overs, the Strikers were going below six runs per over as they reached 53-1. Both teams then used their BBL X Factor substitute. Morne Morkel came into the game for Brisbane Heat, and Jonathan Wells joined the Strikers.
The BBL Power Surge was taken straightaway by the Strikers in the 11th over. But they could manage only 16 runs and lost Weatherald for 32. Marnus Labuschagne then picked up the crucial wicket of Travis Head, who departed for 12.
The move to bring in Wells did pay off as his 20 off 14 balls helped the Strikers reach 130 runs. It was a poor batting performance from the Strikers even though the pitch was holding up a bit.
The two spinners, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Swepson combined to take 5 wickets to help their side get the win.