BBL | Hurricanes vs Sixers: Hobart hold nerve to clinch clinical victory

The much-awaited Big Bash League is back with its 10^th season and so is the quotient of unpredictability. Planned to the last detail, keeping the entertainment quotient in mind, the new rules of BBL struck in the first game itself with Hobart Hurricanes trouncing defending champions Sydney Sixers to achieve a clinical victory of 16 runs. 

The top players of Hurricanes showed their class in the inaugural clash and delivered in the crunch moments to start off their campaign on a winning note. Led by James Faulkner and Riley Meredith in the bowling department, Hurricanes restricted Sixers to a modest 162-6 in 20 overs after Colin Ingram (55 off 42) and Tim David (58 off 33) stole the show in the batting department.

Power Surge proves the deciding factor

Chasing at a fantastic run rate in the first half of the innings, Sixers were 85/1 after the first 10 overs and looked well poised to get to the target of 179. After a lean Power Surge (2 over batting powerplay) that yielded just 18 runs and a dropped catch by Tim David, Sixers, in the hunt for quick runs, lost two wickets, one each in consecutive overs. The wickets shifted the momentum completely towards the Hurricanes and the Sixers never recovered.

Sent in to bat first, Hurricanes had a stop-start progress throughout the innings but managed 19 runs from the final over of Steve O’Keefe (first Power Surge over). This brought Tim David and Hurricanes much-needed impetus. David, who was batting on 14 off 12 before that over, picked himself up and dealt a huge blow to the opposition by scoring 58 off 33 before getting out in the last over.

Hurricanes’ bowlers hold their nerve

After getting smashed to all corners of the park in the first 10 overs. Hurricanes’ bowlers picked up 5 wickets between the 14^th and 20^th over. With Ryan Meredith bowling at pace throughout the game, Sixers targeted the 26-year-old Nathan Ellis. Coming into bowl in the 17^th and the 19^th overs, Ellis gave away just one boundary and picked up the crucial wicket of Jordan Silk to put the pressure straight back on Sixers.

Meredith and Faulkner were the pick of the bowlers, taking two wickets each while Ellis and Scott Boland picked up two wickets between them.

Vince shines for Sixers, but not enough

The match found certain batsmen from both teams in top form, doing what they individually do best. Peter Handscomb (24 off 20) created angles and stole runs in his brief stay at the crease, while Colin Ingram’s drives looked as heavenly as usual.

However, the show was stolen by the man of the match Tim David who played a few huge shots under the pump and helped a batting order starved for momentum.

James Vince tried to emulate the same in the second innings, carefully choosing the balls to go after. Coming from a classical background, Vince caressed the drives, tapped the straight balls, and unleashed a big heave when necessary. When Faulkner forced him to work the leg side, the bigger side of the ground, bowling a straight line to him, the Englishman kept nudging the ball with his flicks. 

The one time, the only time, when he lapsed in his concentration, Faulkner struck him on the pads and earned a crucial wicket to shift the momentum towards Hurricanes.

Want to see good fielding, come to BBL

In a season marred with match fitness, the first game of the 10th edition of Big Bash League delighted the in-game crowd with one of the most outrageous attempts in the outfield.

Running to his right, Jordan Silk pulled back one of the cleanest hits of the day from Colin Ingram by a single-handed dive that saw him leaping over the rope, catching the ball, and then throwing it back inside the boundary.

Eh, why waste words on this indescribably beautiful effort? Watch it rather.

Major talking points from the first game

While Hurricanes were awarded three points, chasers Sidney Sixers, despite losing, earned a point for scoring more runs at the halfway stage of the game. It was quite clear from this game that the Power Surge rule is going to have quite a bit of importance. If you go hard, you score more runs at the risk of losing wickets in those two overs. But if you take the more cautious route, you could end up losing a fair bit of momentum, evident from the Sixers' chase.

One interesting bit from the day's match was that the much talked about X-factor rule was not used by either of the teams. It might be an indication of a 'wait and observe' strategy, or teams might be happy with their set strategy coming into the game, unless the need to change arises.

To sum it up, the opening game of the much-awaited BBL was worth the wait. The competition was fierce, athleticism was great, and new rules exciting. One can only hope that it will get better as the tournament matures.

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