Sydney Thunder hammer Adelaide Strikers by 9 wickets to seal their place in the playoffs
Sydney Thunder secured a comfortable 9-wicket victory over Adelaide Strikers to secure their spot in the BBL playoffs. The game became a 14-over encounter after rain interrupted the start of play.
The Strikers put up 115-4 in their 14 overs with Jake Weatherald doing the bulk of the scoring with his 80*. In reply, Sydney Thunder won the tie on a canter with 11 balls to spare, thanks to Alex Hales' brilliant knock of 63*.
Brief BBL score: Adelaide Strikers 115-4 in 14 overs (Weatherald 80*, McAndrew 1-8). Sydney Thunder 116-1 in 12.1 overs (Hales 63*, Worrall 1-24). Thunder won by 9 wickets.
Sydney Thunder cruise to their 8th BBL win of the season
Chasing 116 for the win, Dan Worrall knocked Usman Khawaja's off stump with a brilliant inswinging delivery off the first ball. However, that was the only joy for the Strikers as Callum Ferguson and Alex Hales stitched together an unbeaten 116-run partnership.
The Thunder needed 38 runs in 7 overs to achieve the BBL boost point, and they reached the mark in the fifth over itself.
Hales unleashed some brutal shots and never looked in trouble. Captain Callum Ferguson (46* off 33) batted sensibly and kept hitting the odd boundary to see his side home with 11 balls to spare.
Jake Weatherald's 80 off 47 goes in vain
Earlier, Adelaide Strikers reached 115-4 thanks to one man - Jake Weatherald. The left-handed opener batted through the innings and scored an unbeaten 80 off 47 balls.
Batting was tough early on with the rain affecting the game. Adam Milne bowled a peach of a first over, conceding only two runs. The Strikers had a shaky start as Sydney Thunder picked up the dangerous wicket of Alex Carey for just 2.
Phil Salt barely troubled the scorers as he was dismissed for one. Tanveer Sangha enticed him with a flighted delivery, but the batsman could only manage to pick out the deep mid-wicket fielder.
After six overs, the Strikers were going below run-a-ball as the scoreboard read 33-2. The run rate even slipped below five at one point as the Strikers were 39-3 after eight overs.
Weatherald, along with Jonathan Wells, finally accelerated. The BBL Power Surge over bowled by Adam Milne yielded 18 runs as Wells and Weatherald smashed him for two boundaries each.
The left-hander continued his onslaught and drilled Chris Green for two sixes in the next over.
Wells was dismissed in the 13th over for 21, but Weatherlad managed 12 runs off the last over to set up a competitive target of 116. But it was not enough to stop the charge of Sydney Thunder.