Hobart Hurricanes continue to find the way to glory! They have now won 4 of their 5 matches, while the Melbourne Renegades remain at the bottom after losing 2 of their 3 fixtures. Tomorrow, it is Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers from the Engie Stadium.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Manan Mehta and scorer Ashok Dayma. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
Nathan Ellis (POTM and Hobart Hurricanes Captain): "Yeah thank you. Though I don't think I deserve it with what the old boy just did. I'll make sure I buy him a burger or chicken or something.
Perth was a tough trip for us. Though we knew we had that in our schedule. We lost Tim in the process as well. We kind of didn't know what our batting line up would look like today. Unfortunately, it is Nikhil Chaudhary who keeps on having to go up and down the order. Though that has been the mantra of our team in the last few seasons. Guys stepping up when they are needed to. Another proud win.
Didn't really know much about Nikhil's injury till we came off the field. However, luckily, he was ready to go, and he just always wants to bat that man.
I am really proud of our spinners mate. I have played against Rishad (Hossain) once in the World Cup but nothing outside that. Same with Rehan (Ahmed). You have seen some footage about them but are not really sure about how they go about things. But they have been so reliable for us and that helps. Pair that up with Riley (Meredith) and Chris Jordan. We have Billy Stanlake in the ranks as well. So many options.
I don't think we have had our best performance as yet but that's the nature of our bowling in the last two. Whoever's night we feel it is, we rely on them to do the job for us. We have Scorchers here in a couple of days. We'll take a day off tomorrow. Maybe take a taste of Tasmania and have some food."
Player of the Match: Nathan Ellis
5:08 PM IST and 10:38 PM Local Time: The Tasmanian legend Matthew Wade has still got it!!! The 38-year-old wicketkeeper batter finishes things off in style to secure a four-wicket win for Hobart Hurricanes!!! With 18 required off the last two overs, Wade took the attack to Gurinder Sandhu (1/50) and wrapped up the game with an over to spare!!! So, the Hurricanes complete a league double over Melbourne Renegades and make it 9 wins in a row at their home ground!!!
Earlier in the game, the Hurricanes won the toss and opted to bowl first. Josh Brown turned things around against Chris Jordan after the Englishman dominated the show in the previous matchup. Brown set the stage on fire in the powerplay. However, the Gades lost wickets at regular intervals as none of their batters managed to go on to make a big score after getting a start. Openers, Brown and Tim Seifert, scored 26 each, while Oliver Peake top-scored with 29. Eventually, the visitors got to 162/9 in 20 overs, 20-25 short of a par score on the night.
For the Hurricanes, the skipper Nathan Ellis led from the front, finishing with 3/30. Rishad Hossain was brilliant for his 2/34. A wicket each for Jordan, Riley Meredith and Mitchell Owen to cap off a solid bowling performance from the hosts.
It was quite a similar story for the batters in the run chase as well. The 'Canes openers, Mitchell Owen and Tim Ward, got to double figures but struggled during their stays in the middle as the Gades' bowlers (AJ Tye - 1/29, Jasob Behrendorff - 0/21) got good help off the surface under the lights. Adam Zampa got two wickets in one over to dent the Hurricanes further. Ben McDermott was undone by Zampa's googly for a silver duck.
Beau Webster, who batted for the first time this season, Nikhil Chaudhary, who came out to bat after seriously hurting his right shoulder during fielding, and Rehan Ahmed all played handy cameos to keep the required run rate within reach despite the wickets falling.
Adam Zampa's superb spell of 3/25 turned things around a bit amidst these cameos, and Hassan Khan's solid 17th over just kept the Gades in the hunt as the Hurricanes were required 28 off the last 18 balls. Matthew Wade stood tall with his unbeaten 43 off 20 balls to take the team home with an over to spare.
Stay tuned for the post-match ceremony!
OVER 19
Hobart Hurricanes
163/6
Matthew Wade
43(20)
Chris Jordan
5(7)
Gurinder Sandhu
1-50(4.0)
18.6 G Sandhu to M Wade
4 FOURRR!!! DONE AND DUSTED!!! Wade does not want to take it to the final over! Full ball outside off stump, 135.5 kph, Wade drills it down the ground past the mid off fielder for four! Hurricanes make it 9 wins in a row here at the Bellerive Oval! The defending champions win this contest by 4 wickets! They make it 2/2 against the Renegades this BBL!
That should be the game for the Hurricanes!!! Matthew Wade is feasting on anything short!!! The hosts are just one hit away from the win.
18.5 G Sandhu to M Wade
6 SIXXX!!! If not the first one in the over, this for sure has sealed the deal! Short ball on the stumps, pace off, Wade waits and pulls it beautifully all the way over backward square leg for six! 73m!
18.4 G Sandhu to C Jordan
1 Full ball outside off stump, Jordan drills it down the ground for a single to long on.