Melbourne Renegades vs. Perth Scorchers
The Perth Scorchers accidentally lost their fourth straight New Year’s game at their stadium in Docklands, Melbourne.
Josh Inglish (47) and Cameron Bancroft (46) put Perth on the line in the final over of a 156-run chase led by Faff du Plessis’ 29-ball 39. For the hosts, Aaron Finch’s 48-ball 65 lifted the side after he fell to 32/3 after six overs.
Finch took the lead with Jonathan Wells (22 for 24 balls) with a 52-run four-wicket standing, aided by cameos from Mackenzie Harvey (16 of 12) and Will Sutherland (14 of 8), making him second from last. Runs over. Akeal Hosein added the finishing touch and in a short six-ball stay he slammed in two of his sixes to make Renegades a respectable 155/6. Du Plessis hit five boundaries on a 29-ball knock to set the pace for the chase despite losing Adam Lys to Kane Richardson late in the third minute. He built a 57-run stance with Bancroft to push the chase forward before Richardson returned to end the half-century chase. Inglis then took charge and started to move after the drink broke on the high border following a Sutherland half-volley.
Inglis’ 42-run winning streak with Bancroft came to an abrupt end with a direct hit that denied Bancroft’s four-run half-century. The Scorchers needed his 40th out of his last 5 overs, followed by several quiet overs. However, Inglis did a limit hat-trick on the first over of Power Surge to spice up the chase.
Brief scores: Melbourne Renegades 155/6 in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 65; Andrew Tye 3-32) lost to Perth Scorchers 156/5 in 19.4 overs (Josh Inglis 47, Cameron Bancroft 46; Kane Richardson 2-21) by 5 wickets
Brisbane Heat vs. Sydney Sixers
The Brisbane Heat scored over 400 runs, ending his fourth straight win for the Sydney Sixers with a score on the Gabba. After opening day Josh Brown set the tone for the hosts with a 23-ball 62 blitz, Nathan McSweeney hit his shot at the top of his 84 and the Heat saw him score a huge 224/5 in his 20 overs. was recorded. The Sixers started the chase brightly, but in the middle over he lost 4 by 30 runs and got lost, eventually putting him 15 short.
Despite losing his opener partner on the last ball of the first over, Brown hit six sixes and four more boundaries on 62 whirlwind shots to give the Heat a flying start. He scored 72 runs in his second wicket with McSweeney in just 5.3 overs and in just 19 deliveries he reached 50 runs before Sean Abbott stopped the fireworks .
Nevertheless, McSweeney carried on the assault on the Sixers’ bowling attack. En route his 37-ball fifty, he dominated both the half-century partnerships he was a part of thereof, adding 62 for the third wicket with Sam Billings (28 off 21) and another 61 with Jimmy Peirson (19 off 13) for the fourth that took Heat past the 200-run mark. Upon McSweeney’s run-out, two balls out from the close of the innings, new-bat Ross Whiteley hit a final-ball six to set Sixers a daunting 225-run target.
Josh Phillipe (27 off 13) and James Vince (41 off 24) were both brisk in reply, putting on a half-century opening partnership in just 3.3 overs of the mandatory powerplay before Michael Neser returned in the fifth to take out the former. Vince, Daniel Hughes and skipper Moises Henriques tried to keep up with the asking rate but losing them all and Dan Christian over a period of next five overs never allowed to build on that initial momentum. Jordan Silk tried to match 54 runs deep in fast time with Hayden Carr. He was particularly brutal against James Bazley, having him in the attack with 6, 4 and 4 last overs in 15 overs. But Matthew Kuhnemann tripped Kerr in the next over, and all the Sixers’ hopes were put to rest in the penultimate over with Nether’s very quiet catch on the ropes to end Silk’s stay. Virtually finished.
Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 224/5 in 20 overs (Nathan McSweeney 84, Josh Brown 62) beat Sydney Sixers 209 all out in 20 overs (Jordan Silk 41, James Vince 41; Michael Neser 3-41, Matthew Kuhnemann 2-31) by 15 runs