BBL|12: Sensational Sydney Thunder derail Stars to bag qualification
Sydney Thunder eventually secured a win by three wickets and advanced into the Eliminator. But this clash between the Thunder and Melbourne Stars had at least half of a dozen twists and turns.
Sydney burst Thunder
Winning the toss, Sydney invited the Stars to bat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Adam Zampa's company showed one of the disastrous batting display as they could only score to 119/7 at the end of 20 overs.
Sydney Thunder had a fantastic start with the ball as no batter looked good during their stay at the crease. Except Hilton Cartwright, who along with Thomas Rogers, led the recovery work and started building the partnership. Both steadied the ship and put 49 together. But the lack of contributions from the lower-order batters resulted in them posting 119 on the board.
The spinners bowled beautifully for Thunder and kept a check on the scoring rate. Usman Qadir was the pick of the bowlers for Thunder as he finished with figures of 3/24 in his four overs.
ST too made a mockery of the chase
Chris Green's Sydney also made a mockery of the chase as their batters too tumbled in the testing conditions offered in the MCG. It seemed that the Thunder batters would pave their way to a comfortable win, but that wasn’t to be, as the Melbourne Stars fought back in a terrific manner.
With the new cherry, Luke Wood got the better of the dangerous David Warner 2 (3), while Jason Sangha 10 (11) was stumped in Adam Zampa’s first over.
Matthew Gilkes 20 (27) was dismissed by Beau Webster as the score read 41-3 in 9 overs. Davies 8 (17) also didn't have much to offer, and it was soon 49-4. But it was a crucial 28 (18) by Daniel Sams that turned the tide back in favour of Sydney Thunder.
Sams struck three boundaries and a six to give his side the edge. A 16-run stand right towards the end by Chris Green 6 (7)* and Nathan McAndrew 12 (10)* got Sydney Thunder the all-important win in the penultimate over.
Although the Melbourne Stars endured yet another defeat, they will be proud of their bowling performance that was put in today. Adam Zampa led by example through his marvellous spell of 3/26 in four overs. Luke Wood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Beau Webster chipped in with a wicket apiece.
With this win, the Thunder have advanced to Eliminator 1 to face Brisbane Heat on January 27. While Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers will face each other in Qualifier 1 on January 28. The fifth qualified team is Melbourne Renegades who will play the Knockout on January 29.
Brief Score
Melbourne Stars: 119-7 (20)
Hilton Cartwright - 36 (36), Thomas Rogers - 35 (36)
Usman Qadir - 3/24 (4), Chris Green - 2/19 (4)
Sydney Thunder: 120-7 (18.5)
Daniel Sams - 28* (18), Matthew Gilkes 20 (27)
Adam Zampa - 3/25 (4), Beau Webster - 1/8 (3)
Result: Sydney Thunder won by 3 wickets
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