Perth Scorchers defeat Hobart Hurricanes by 22 runs, Jhye Richardson stars with an all-round performance
Perth Scorchers continued their impressive run as they defeated the Hobart Hurricanes by 22 runs in the season's 47th BBL encounter. The Scorchers had posted 179-8 in their 20 overs thanks to crucial knocks by Josh Inglis (58) and Jhye Richardson (29).
In reply, the Hurricanes fell short by 22 runs as they couldn't recover from their poor start. With this win, the Scorchers consolidated their position at the second spot on the BBL points table.
Brief BBL score: Perth Scorchers 179-8 (Inglis 58, Ellis 4-34). Hobart Hurricanes 157-8 (Short 43, Richardson 4-33)
Jhye Richardson picks up 4 wickets
Jhye Richardson was in sublime form with the whit ball. He picked Matthew Wade in the first over, as the batsman got a leading edge. The seamer then deceived in-form Ben McDermott for a duck and left the Hurricanes reeling at 15-2 after three overs.
Dawid Malan failed to trouble the scorers as he was back in the hut for 3. Peter Handscomb and D'Arcy Short's partnership did some repairing as they took their team to 68-3 in 10 overs, needing 112 off 60 balls.
The two overs in the BBL Power Surge from the 11th over yielded 30 runs. But the Hurricanes also lost a set Handscomb in the process. The asking rate kept climbing, and the Scorchers closed out the game to win by 22 runs. Will Jacks (21) and Tim David (29) provided some resistance in the end, but it was futile.
Josh Inglis and Jhye Richardson help Scorchers post 179
Winning the toss and batting first, the Perth Scorchers were off to a flyer as Jason Roy looked in a murderous mood. However, the Englishman soon perished for 20 off 12 balls as Nathan Ellis trapped him lbw.
Colin Munro, who has found form lately in the BBL, was cleaned up for 5 by Will Jacks. Liam Livingstone looked good for his 26, but threw away his start as he pulled straight to deep square leg off Sandeep Lamichhane. After six overs, Perth Scorchers were scoring at a good clip, but they also lost their top 3 batsmen.
Lamichhane then trapped the big fish Mitchell Marsh who failed to pick the wrong-un and was lbw for 7. After ten overs, the Scorchers reached 80-4. But Josh Inglis kept the scoreboard moving as he kept finding boundaries.
The Scorchers put on 70 runs in the last six overs thanks to some lusty blows provided by Inglis and Jhye Richardson.
The BBL Power Surge was taken in the 17th over, and the two overs brought 24 runs with Richardson smashing two fours and a six of consecutive deliveries from Scott Boland.
In the final over, Richardson and Inglis were both dismissed, but by then, they had put Scorchers in a good position as they posted a competitive 179 in their 20 overs. And it proved enough in the end.