That brings an end to our coverage of this game. Keep joining us for more cricketing action all around the globe. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentators Anirudh Modi, Dev Rajawat and scorer Bishal Mandal. Bye bye.
Laura Wolvaardt (Player of the Match): "That was too close for comfort at the end. Good from our batters to hold it together, but we were very uncomfortable until the end. It was a really flat wicket, we saw it at the toss, and thought 170 was about par. We just needed a good start to chase it down.
We just wanted to play a good cricket shot, there's a small margin of error, and we don't need to try anything crazy. Just tried to play my cover drives. We tried to hit the leg side gaps too with sweeps, but also bring it out at the right time.
She loves batting here. I remember the semi-final where she got us through with a big six. We are very lucky to have her. We batted a lot better than we have today, our bowling is good but it's the batting and fielding we need to focus on and improve. Thank you."
Player of the Match: Laura Wolvaardt
4:42 PM IST, 9:42 PM Local Time: That’s it. Adelaide Strikers Women get back to winning ways in Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2025 by beating Brisbane Heat Women by six wickets in a nail-biting contest. They grab their second win of the competition. The Heat Women, on the other hand, remain winless as they suffer their sixth straight loss this season.
Chasing 170, Laura Wolvaardt and Tammy Beaumont gave the Strikers Women a blazing start. Both played some wonderful strokes upfront and scored 41 runs in the powerplay. They took the opening stand past 50 as the visitors felt the heat. Wolvaardt brought up a fantastic fifty off just 29 balls before falling on 51 as the 92-run opening stand was broken in the 10th over.
The Heat put the squeeze on post the drinks break and got the reward as Beaumont (51) and Madeline Penna (8) departed in a quick succession. Skipper Tahlia McGrath along with Bridget Patterson steadied the ship and took the game deep. With 31 required from 18, the Strikers opted for the Power Surge.
Lucy Hamilton dismissed McGrath on 16 in the 18th over. Patterson hit some lusty blows and brought the equation down to 7 from six. Patterson and Ellie Johnston played sensibly and held their nerves to take their side across the line on the final ball of the innings. Patterson and Johnston remained unbeaten on 32 and nine respectively as the Strikers Women got home and handed Heat Women their sixth straight loss.
Earlier, the Heat Women were asked to bat first. Lauren Winifield-Hill (47) looked good at the top of the order and gave her side a solid start. She received a very good support from skipper Jess Jonassen (37) as both laid a platform for a strong finish.
Redmayne at four scored 36* off 20 and a cameo from Nadine de Klerk (25 off 9) at the back end of the innings helped Heat Women post 169/5 on the board. For the Strikers Women, Sophie Ecclestone (2/36) and Amanda-Jade Wellington (2/31) picked up two scalps each.
The game went down the wire and Nadine de Klerk tried hard but failed to defend seven in the final over as the Strikers Women chased down the total on the final ball to grab their second win of WBBL 2025.
OVER 20
Adelaide Strikers Women
170/4
Ellie Johnston
9(6)
Bridget Patterson
32(22)
Nadine de Klerk
0-29(3.0)
Pitching Outside Leg. It stays NOT and Adelaide Strikers Women win the game by six wickets on the final ball.