Sydney Sixers defeat Perth Scorchers by 7 wickets, Josh Philippe stars with 84 off 52 balls
Defending champions Sydney Sixers showed why they are still the team to beat in the BBL as they defeated an in-form Perth Scorchers side by seven wickets. With this defeat, the Scorchers' five-game winning run came to a halt.
Chasing 164 for the win, Josh Philippe (84) and James Vince (52) set up a 106-run partnership to guide their team home. With this win, the Sixers consolidated their position on top of the BBL points table.
Brief BBL score: Perth Scorchers 163-7 (Livingstone 67, Brathwaite 2-12). Sydney Sixers 164-3 in 18.5 overs (Philippe 84, Behrendorff 1-19). Sydney Sixers won by 7 wickets.
Josh Philippe guides his team to their 8th BBL win of the season
Justin Avendano failed to get going even though the Sydney Sixers were off to a decent start while chasing 164. Avendano was dismissed for eight by Jason Behrendorff in the sixth over when the score was 40.
England international James Vince has had a below-par BBL campaign so far, but he played a crucial knock today. The Englishman started slowly as he scored 13 off his first 15 balls. But he ended up with 52 off 35 deliveries before being undone by Fawad Ahmed. The Sydney Sixers didn't win the BBL Boost point as the Scorchers had put up 103 runs in their first ten overs.
The Sydney-based outfit needed 92 off the last ten overs, and they achieved that with seven balls to spare. Josh Philippe's impressive run of form continued as he barely looked in trouble en route to his 84.
The opener was cleaned up in the 17th over by Jhye Richardson after being struck on the jaw off the previous ball. However, some late wickets were mere consolation as the Sydney Sixers always looked in control throughout their chase.
Perth Scorchers collapse in the second half of their innings
After winning the toss and batting first, the Scorchers were off to a good start. Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone set up a good partnership at the top. The Perth-based outfit raced to 76-0 in the first seven overs, and they looked good for a massive total. Livingstone was the aggressive of the two openers as he reached his 50 in 26 balls.
Jason Roy dragged a delivery from Dan Christian on to his stumps and was dismissed for 21 when the score read 76. After ten overs, the Perth Scorchers were 103-1, with Livingstone in ominous form. However, the Scorchers completely capitulated in the final ten overs and could manage only 60 runs.
The Power Surge turned out to be their undoing as they took it in the 11th over. The Scorchers lost two wickets as Jake Ball dismissed Livingstone and Ashton Turner in the 11th over. The next over produced only six runs, and the Power Surge completely backfired on the Scorchers.
After that, they failed to get any momentum at the end of their innings. The last three overs yielded only 21 runs as the Sydney Sixers bowlers restricted the Scorchers to a modest total.