Hobart Hurricanes win by 1 run against Brisbane Heat, Scott Boland defends 7 runs in the final over
Hobart Hurricanes snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they secured a one-run win against Brisbane Heat in the season's 20th BBL encounter. The Hurricanes had put up 150 runs on the board in the first innings, and that proved to be enough as the Heat fell short narrowly.
Needing 7 to win off the last over, James Bazley and Mark Steketee couldn't see their side home and the latter was run out off the last ball of the BBL game under dramatic circumstances.
Brief BBL score: Hobart Hurricanes 150 all out in 19.4 overs (Malan 39, Rahman 5-15). Brisbane Heat 149-8 in 20 overs (Bazley 49, Meredith 3-18). Hurricanes won by one run.
A cliffhanger of a chase in the BBL 2020-21
Chasing 151 to win, the Heat lost their opener Sam Heazlett in the first over and were eventually left tottering at 8-3. Riley Meredith's express pace did the damage for the Hurricanes in the powerplay overs as he picked two wickets.
Lewis Gregory and Max Bryant did some repairing job as they took their side to 47 in 8 overs. Keemo Paul broke that partnership as Bryant was dismissed for 32. Jimmy Peirson and James Bazley batted sensibly and brought the target within reach as the Heat needed 48 off the last six overs.Â
Bazley was the star of the show as he used his long levers to good effect and smashed 49 off 31 balls. He got decent support from Jimmy Peirson first and then Mark Steketee. However, that didn't prove enough as Scott Boland defended seven runs in the last over as he executed his plans well.
Check the updated Big Bash Stats here.
BBL 2020-21: Mujeeb Ur Rahman pick up 5
Earlier in the first innings, Brisbane Heat lost their key opener D'Arcy Short in the second delivery of the match as he was caught behind off the bowling of Xavier Bartlett. Coming in at no. 3, Dawid Malan got going quickly as he smashed four boundaries in the third over.
However, the Hurricanes soon lost their other opener, Ben McDermott, for four as Mujeeb Ur Rahman took his first wicket of the game. The Hurricanes could only manage 65-3 in their first ten overs in this BBL tie.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman then picked Malan's crucial wicket in the 12th over by disturbing his stumps. The dismissal was the turning point as Malan looked set for a big score.
Colin Ingram and Tim David progressed their side's innings further but Ingram departed for 24 off 21 balls as the South African looked scrappy in the middle. David provided some lusty blows as the Hurricanes collected 20 runs in the 17th over. He was dismissed in the next over by Bartlett.
The Hurricanes certainly made a significant error in judgement by not taking the BBL Power Surge early. They were forced to take it in the last 2 overs when their key batsmen were already dismissed. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled the 19th over and he gave away just the one run and picked three wickets. Even the one run came off a wide delivery as the Hurricanes shot themselves in the foot. They could only put 150 runs on the board and were bowled out in 19.4 overs.
But as it turned out, the score of 150 proved to be enough, and Rahman's five-for went in vain. With this result, the Heat are still stuck with the one win in this BBL season.