BBL|12: Steve Smith's maiden BBL ton turns too good for Adelaide Strikers
Steve Smith roared at Adelaide Strikers with a ton
The Sixers have done it! This was easy peasy for them and they won this riveting battle by 59 runs.
A Steve Smith hundred, followed by some tight bowling from Todd Murphy and Ben Dwarshuis ensured that Sixers leapfrog the Scorchers and go top of the table
Murphy-Dwarshuis share six wickets
Chasing 204 was never going to be easy and the Strikers found it tough right from the word go. They lost the in-form Travis Head for just 5, but Alex Carey and Matthew Short ensured that the runs keep on coming. The duo struggled a bit, but the odd boundaries kept on coming.
Short was the aggressor in the partnership, and continued his rich vein of form in the tournament. However, he was eventually dismissed for 40 by Todd Murphy and that changed the course of the match.
Wickets started to tumble at regular intervals and Strikers lost three in quick successions. However, one man stood from the other end and watched everything going in front of his eyes. Carey looked like a man on a mission and started the attack with the dismissal of Short.
With the run-rate climbing up, the pressure was increasing on the Strikers and Carey kept them in the contest with a well crafted fifty. With his dismissal, it was just a matter of time before the Strikers crumbled.
The Steve Smith hundred
After losing the bat flip, Sydney lost Josh Phillipe in the first over of the match. Smith and Kurtis Patterson tried too hard in the powerplay overs, and they were finding the timing. Finally, Smudgy found the timing right by taking advantage of the short leg-side boundary.
Most of his runs came in front of the square, where he smashed most of his sixes as he batted calculatingly throughout his innings.
Smith not only smashed his highest BBL total but also smashed his maiden ton in the league.
His masterclass eventually ended with a miscommunication that led to a runout. Although after Smith’s assault, it was Jordan Silk who broke the run bank and kept the run-rate on the higher side.
Brief Score:
Sydney Sixers - 203/5 (20 overs)
Steve Smith - 101 (56), Kurtis Patterson - 43 (33)
Wes Agar - 2/48 (4), Matthew Short - 1/16 (2)
Adelaide Strikers - 144/10 (20 overs)
Alex Carey - 54 (35), Matthew Short - 40 (24)
Ben Dwarshuis - 3/28 (4), Todd Murphy - 3/35 (4)
Result: Sydney Sixers won by 59 runs.
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