That’s all we have for you from the iconic Adelaide Oval after a last-over thriller that went the way of the home side. The Adelaide Strikers held their nerve when it mattered most. Sydney Thunder, meanwhile, find themselves rooted to the bottom of the points table and have been eliminated from the tournament.
For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Akshay Bhide who, along with scorer/analyst Manish Bishnoi brought all the actions of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Jamie Overton (Player of the Match): “Yeah, good win. A little tighter than we would have liked but happy to get the win. It’s not easiest time to bowl. I think just bash in. I think he (Willey) got one away but just tried to stay calm and composed during that time.
We know what kind of player he (Warner) is. Just tried to keep him away from strike. He played just over 50 balls. It worked for us.
It’s about freshness. Gave up on red-ball cricket. But it’s about freshness. There's a difference between bowling 15-20 overs a day and bowling four overs a day. Feeling good and happy to get those speeds up again.
Fingers crossed we get to finals."
Player of the Match: Jamie Overton
5:07 PM IST, 10:07 PM Local Time: What a thriller we’ve witnessed here at the Adelaide Oval. Luke Wood produced outstanding stuff under pressure, defending 13 runs in the last over to snatch victory for his side. The Adelaide Strikers hold their nerve to win by 6 runs in a gripping finish. With that defeat, last season’s finalists Sydney Thunder have been knocked out of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, the Strikers were asked to bat first and they lost both their openers in Chris Lynn (15) and Matthew Short (4) inside the powerplay. Mackenzie Harvey (38) and Jason Sangha (31) resurrected the innings nicely with a 68-run partnership before both fell in a quick succession post the drinks break.
Liam Scott looked solid at the crease and received good support from Jamie Overton (13) as they laid the foundation for a strong finish. However, a flurry of wickets at the back end of the innings meant that the Strikers finished their innings on 165/8, with Scott remaining unbeaten on 49.
For Thunder, Wes Agar bowled beautifully and registered figures of 3/16 from his three overs. Nathan McAndrew (2/32), David Willey (1/38) and Daniel Sams (1/38) too entered the wickets column but were on the expensive side. While chasing, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and fell short by six runs to lose four games in a row.
In reply, the Sydney Thunder made a solid start to the chase, getting through the powerplay without losing a wicket. The left-handed opening pair of Matthew Gilkes and David Warner found boundaries at regular intervals and kept the scoreboard ticking. Together, they put on a fluent 73-run opening partnership that gave the Thunder early momentum. Jamie Overton finally broke the stand, dismissing Gilkes for a well-made 43 off 33 balls to provide the Strikers with a crucial breakthrough.
The Sydney Thunder’s chase suddenly fell apart as they suffered a dramatic collapse in the middle overs. From a commanding 73/0, they lost 3 wickets for just 4 runs, completely shifting the momentum. David Warner and Nic Maddinson tried to steady things with a crucial 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but Maddinson’s dismissal for 21 off 14 balls came at the wrong time. From there on, the responsibility rested entirely on skipper David Warner, who kept running out of partners at the other end. Warner brought up his fifty off 38 balls and battled till the very end, remaining unbeaten on 67, but it wasn’t enough. Luke Wood held his nerve in a pressure-packed final over, nailing his yorkers to defend 13 runs and seal a 6-run win for the Strikers.
Jamie Overton was the standout performer with the ball for the Strikers, finishing with impressive figures of 3/25. With this win, the Adelaide Strikers register their third victory of the season, while the Sydney Thunder’s campaign comes to an end as they are knocked out of the tournament.
OVER 20
Sydney Thunder
159/7
David Warner
67(51)
Nathan McAndrew
5(3)
Luke Wood
0-37(4.0)
19.6 L Wood to N McAndrew
1 Back of a length delivery around leg. McAndrew pulls it away along the ground from the splice of his blade to deep forward square leg for a single. What a sensational final over from Luke Wood under immense pressure. He kept his composure brilliantly, nailing his yorkers. A dropped chance off McAndrew on the final ball of the 19th over didn’t rattle him, and he came back stronger to close it out. A match-winning effort from Wood as the Strikers hold their nerve to win by 6 runs.
McAndrew finds the boundary. A legal ball and the Strikers will be home. 8 required from 1 now.
19.5 L Wood to N McAndrew
4 FOUR RUNS! Too little too late for the Thunder. A legal delivery from Wood will do the job for his side now. Yorker wide outside off from Wood. McAndrew reaches for it as he gets a bottom edge which beats short third man to his left for a boundary. 8 required off 1 ball.