Babar Azam-less Sydney Sixers storm through to BBL final beating Hobart Hurricanes

Steve Smith helps Sydney Sixers coast into BBL 2025-26 final [Source: @SixersBBL/x]Sydney Sixers pulverized Hobart Hurricanes in the Challenger match of the BBL 2025-26 season in Sydney. The outcome also helped the Sixers set themselves a date with table-toppers Perth Scorchers for the final. Here, we take a look at the entire highlights from the Challenger match of the BBL 2025-26 season between Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes, as it panned out at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney on Friday, January 23. Steve Smith 65, Davies cameo bolt Sydney Sixers to 198 Getting invited to bat first, Sydney Sixers lost opener Daniel Hughes for just 13 from 10 balls in the third over of the match. His partner and Sixers run machine Steve Smith notched up his third fifty-plus score of the season in just five innings, this time plundering 65 runs from 43 balls with nine boundaries and a six. Josh Philippe at number three assisted Smith in a 64-run partnership with a run-a-ball 15 before getting knocked over by Billy Standlake. Captain Moises Henriques belted two fours and a six in his eight-ball 19 before both he and Steve Smith were dismissed by Hobart Hurricanes’ Bangladesh import Rishad Hossain in quick succession. Joel Davies (27 off 12) and Lachlan Shaw (21 off 13) compounded 48 runs from 25 balls between them during the slog overs, before some late runs from Jack Edwards (15 off 12) pushed the Sydney Sixers to a monumental 198-8 by the completion of their innings. For the Hurricanes, ace spinner Rishad Hossain unfurled the spell of the high-scoring innings with figures of 2-33. While Riley Meredith picked up three wickets in the game, the speedster leaked 52 runs from his four overs and claimed all his victims at the death. Billy Stanlake also chipped in with figures of 2-46. Dwarshuis and Mitchell Starc team-up to restrict Hurricanes Sydney Sixers new ball paceman Mitchell Starc and fellow fast bowler Sean Abbott both accounted for a Hobart Hurricanes opener each inside the powerplay. While Starc bested Mitchell Owen for just 13 from eight balls, Abbott got Tim Ward caught by Joel Davies at deep midwicket for a similar score. Beau Webster (24 off 27) at number three and captain Ben McDermott (40 off 26) fought back with a swift 48-run partnership for the third wicket. However, a wicket from Ben Dwarshuis triggered a colossal Hurricanes collapse as they crashed from 77-2 to 91-6 in the space of just three overs. Starc shines with the ballJoel Davies decimated the Hurricanes middle-order with the wickets of Nikhil Chaudhary and wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade for single-digit scores to claim sensational figures of 2-17. Mitchell Starc (2-29) and Abbott (2-18) also added a wicket each to their tally to add on to their sublime new ball blitz. Dwarshuis (3-26) trapped Will Prestwidge and Riley Meredith off successive deliveries before Jack Edwards landed the knockout punch as Hurricanes folded up for just 141 in 17.2 overs. With a 57-run win in the bag, the Sydney Sixers will now face Perth Scorchers in the final of the BBL 2025-26 season.