1st Match: Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers at Sydney Showground Stadium, Sydney, Dec 19 - 2017, Cricket highlights
The Big Bash League 2017-18 was off to a thrilling start as Sydney Thunder managed to pull off a last-ball win against their rivals Sydney Sixers. Shane Watson and Arjun Nair were the star performers for the Thunder. While Watson scored a match-winning 77 off just 46 balls, Nair picked up two wickets and also smashed 10 runs in the last over to get his team over the line. The 5-wicket win was Sydney Thunder's only 4th win in the 12 meetings between these two teams.
After Shane Watson decided to bowl first, it looked like a judgemental error by the Thunder’s skipper as the Sixers were off to a blazing start, courtesy of Nic Maddinson and Daniel Hughes. The pair gave a pasting to the Thunder bowlers and even Watson was not spared, as they scored 55 runs in the powerplay for the loss of only Jason Roy’s wicket.
But the introduction of spinners – Fawad Ahmed and Arjun Nair – did the trick for the Sydney Thunder. The spin-duo was not only able to slow down the run-rate, but also picked up 4 wickets between them, which swung the match in the favour of Thunder. From 55 for 1, the Sixers had slid down to 80 for 5 at the end of 12 overs.
The innings was then revived by Sam Billings and Peter Neville, who stitched a fine partnership of 37 runs for the sixth wicket. The majority of the runs came off the blade of Billings, who made brilliant use of the reverse-sweeps. In the 17th over, Andrew Fekete was able to break the partnership by getting rid of Neville, but he also went for 12 runs in that over as the new batsman, in Steve O’Keefe, hammered a couple of boundaries.
With the last two overs left and with Billings still out in the middle, the Sixers had a good chance of posting 155-160 runs on the board. However, Billings got run out at the start of the penultimate over; as a result of which, they managed to score only 10 runs and ended up scoring 149 in their 20 overs.
Defending a smallish total, the Sixers were provided with a terrific start by Daniel Sams, who got rid of the dangerous Jos Buttler in the very first over. The left-arm seamer could have also got Kurtis Patterson out in his very next over, but both the times the inside edge went past the leg-stump to run away for a boundary.
With luck on his side, Patterson along with captain Watson stitched a valuable partnership of 75 runs to get the run-chase back on track. While Patterson mostly dealt in singles, it was Watto, who played the big shots and scored the bulk of runs.
The Sixers badly needed a breakthrough to get back into the contest and the same was provided by Sams, who was finally able to get rid of Patterson on the third attempt. In the very next over, Johan Botha picked up the wicket of Ben Roher and gave the Thunder a double blow.
At this stage, the game hung in balance as the Thunder needed 62 more runs to win off the last 6 overs. Watson was the key for his team and he batted absolutely brilliantly to get his team close to the target. The last four overs provided all the thrills as the match swung from one end to another.
First, it was the over from Sean Abbot, where Watson thrashed him for a couple of fours and a huge six to accumulate 16 runs off it. That over had brought the equation in Thunder’s favour as they needed only 26 to get off the last 3 overs. But in the very next over, the momentum shifted as Sams picked up two wickets, including that of Watson, to keep the Sixers still in the contest. He also conceded just 3 runs and finished with startling figures of 4 for 14.
Doug Bollinger followed it up with another tight over as he gave away only 8. Now, the equation was a bit tricky for the Thunder as they needed 15 to get off the final over. Abbot – who had conceded 16 in his previous over – was entrusted with the responsibility of defending the total. But he failed in doing so as Arjun Nair and Aiden Blizzard scripted a memorable win for their team by scoring the winning runs off the last ball.
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Sydney Thunder clinch a thriller in BBL opener | Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers | Match 1 - BBL0001
The Big Bash League 2017-18 was off to a thrilling start as Sydney Thunder managed to pull off a last-ball win against their rivals Sydney Sixers. Shane Watson and Arjun Nair were the star performers for the Thunder. While Watson scored a match-winning 77 off just 46 balls, Nair picked up two wickets and also smashed 10 runs in the last over to get his team over the line. The 5-wicket win was Sydney Thunder's only 4th win in the 12 meetings between these two teams.
After Shane Watson decided to bowl first, it looked like a judgemental error by the Thunder’s skipper as the Sixers were off to a blazing start, courtesy of Nic Maddinson and Daniel Hughes. The pair gave a pasting to the Thunder bowlers and even Watson was not spared, as they scored 55 runs in the powerplay for the loss of only Jason Roy’s wicket.
But the introduction of spinners – Fawad Ahmed and Arjun Nair – did the trick for the Sydney Thunder. The spin-duo was not only able to slow down the run-rate, but also picked up 4 wickets between them, which swung the match in the favour of Thunder. From 55 for 1, the Sixers had slid down to 80 for 5 at the end of 12 overs.
The innings was then revived by Sam Billings and Peter Neville, who stitched a fine partnership of 37 runs for the sixth wicket. The majority of the runs came off the blade of Billings, who made brilliant use of the reverse-sweeps. In the 17th over, Andrew Fekete was able to break the partnership by getting rid of Neville, but he also went for 12 runs in that over as the new batsman, in Steve O’Keefe, hammered a couple of boundaries.
With the last two overs left and with Billings still out in the middle, the Sixers had a good chance of posting 155-160 runs on the board. However, Billings got run out at the start of the penultimate over; as a result of which, they managed to score only 10 runs and ended up scoring 149 in their 20 overs.
Defending a smallish total, the Sixers were provided with a terrific start by Daniel Sams, who got rid of the dangerous Jos Buttler in the very first over. The left-arm seamer could have also got Kurtis Patterson out in his very next over, but both the times the inside edge went past the leg-stump to run away for a boundary.
With luck on his side, Patterson along with captain Watson stitched a valuable partnership of 75 runs to get the run-chase back on track. While Patterson mostly dealt in singles, it was Watto, who played the big shots and scored the bulk of runs.
The Sixers badly needed a breakthrough to get back into the contest and the same was provided by Sams, who was finally able to get rid of Patterson on the third attempt. In the very next over, Johan Botha picked up the wicket of Ben Roher and gave the Thunder a double blow.
At this stage, the game hung in balance as the Thunder needed 62 more runs to win off the last 6 overs. Watson was the key for his team and he batted absolutely brilliantly to get his team close to the target. The last four overs provided all the thrills as the match swung from one end to another.
First, it was the over from Sean Abbot, where Watson thrashed him for a couple of fours and a huge six to accumulate 16 runs off it. That over had brought the equation in Thunder’s favour as they needed only 26 to get off the last 3 overs. But in the very next over, the momentum shifted as Sams picked up two wickets, including that of Watson, to keep the Sixers still in the contest. He also conceded just 3 runs and finished with startling figures of 4 for 14.
Doug Bollinger followed it up with another tight over as he gave away only 8. Now, the equation was a bit tricky for the Thunder as they needed 15 to get off the final over. Abbot – who had conceded 16 in his previous over – was entrusted with the responsibility of defending the total. But he failed in doing so as Arjun Nair and Aiden Blizzard scripted a memorable win for their team by scoring the winning runs off the last ball.
Get all the latest MyCricketHighlights updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook!
Sydney Thunder clinch a thriller in BBL opener | Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers | Match 1 - BBL0001
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