BBL 12: Smith and O'Keefe fly high as Sixers thrash Thunder

Steve O'Keefe took four wickets [Source: Twitter]

Riding on Steve Smith's scintillating ton and a spectacular effort from the bowlers, Sydney Sixers steamrolled Sydney Thunder in the 50th ODI of the ongoing Big Bash League. 

With this defeat, Sydney Thunder's chances of qualifying for the finals have suffered a massive blow. 

Smith's century powers Sixers to a challenging total

After opting to bat first, the Sixers got off to a poor start, losing Joshua Philippe and Kurtis Patterson cheaply. 

However, Steve Smith and Moises Henriques executed a commendable resurrection, stitching a match-winning unbeaten stand of 155 runs for the third wicket. 

While Smith hammered five fours and nine gigantic sixes for his 66-ball 125*, Henriques contributed 45 runs off 36 deliveries. 

Gurinder Sandhu was the only successful bowler for the Thunder, scalping two wickets for 42 runs. 

Steve O'Keefe records four-for as Thunder fall like a cluster

In reply, Sydney Thunder had a disastrous start to their innings, as they lost Matthew Gilkes, Blake Nikitaras, Oliver Davies and Alex Ross for single-digit scores. Veteran batter David Warner fell prey to Steve O'Keefe after scoring a sloth-paced 23-ball 16. 

O'Keefe continued to be at his deceptive best, getting rid of all-rounders Daniel Sams and Ben Cutting. 

After that, it was only a matter of time before Sean Abbott removed Gurinder Sandhu and Chris Green to bundle out the Thunder for a paltry 62 in 14.4 overs. 

Brief Scores

Sydney Sixers: 187/2 (19)
Steve Smith 125* (66), Moises Henriques 45* (36);
Gurinder Sandhu 2/42 (4)

Sydney Thunder: 62 (14.4)
David Warner 16 (23), Joel Davies 10 (10);
Steve O'Keefe 4/10 (3), Sean Abbott 3/11 (2.4)

Sydney Sixers won by 125 runs. 

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