The Sydney Thunder managed to end their ongoing Big Bash League slump with a big win over the Brisbane Heat in Sydney on Tuesday (27 December). After their bowlers reduced the heat to just 121/6, the Thunder’s opening reached a fiery half-century, giving the team his 10-wicket win, which was excellent in over eight overs.
The Thunder were desperate for a win to boost morale after winning the season opener and his three losses at the Trot this season. In this one of his three bouts, they were knocked out in just 15. As a result, the batting department made a spectacular comeback, but its performance did not translate into victory. On Tuesday, they met the team that took their first win of the season in the final duel. However, the Heat got off to a bad start, losing Max to his Bryant by just one. Matt Renshaw and Sam Billings also left with low scores, making it difficult to score runs from the start. Colin Munroe was able to keep up with Jimmy Pearson, but by the time they added 51 for the fourth wicket, the Heat had hit almost 15 overs with a run rate of nowhere near six.
The Thunder kept the Heat at bay throughout the inning, and the Heat would have struggled to break past 110 were it not for a cameo appearance shortly after the death of Xavier Bartlett. Overs before Alex Hales played at the streak limit to close out three overs.
The limit continued to loom as Hales turned on the Heat around half-time as the Thunder raced to 87/0 in ten overs. The result was almost a foregone conclusion, with Gilkes raising 50 as he beat Mitchell Swepson by 3 6 and 4 overs. In the next over, Hales added three more restrictions to his list to keep the Heat out of their misery.
Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 121/6 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 43. Xavier Bartlett 28*; Chris Green 2/14) lost to Sydney Thunder124/0 in 11.4 overs (Alex Hales 59*, Matthew Gilkes 56*) by 10 wickets