BBL 07, Match 28 Review: Sydney Sixers register their first win of the season

Yesterday, Melbourne Stars put an end to their losing streak and today, Sydney Sixers have done the same, with a win against the local rivals. Incidentally, both the Stars and Sixers registered their first wins in their respective derbies. The Big Bash is clearly not for the faint-hearted and once again, the Sydney Derby proved it with a thrilling last-ball finish.

Batting first, Sydney Thunder lost a few early wickets. But new recruit James Vince did a fantastic job initially. Although the wickets kept falling at the other end, Vince kept playing his shots and the scoreboard never took a pause. If it had not been for his effort, they would’ve fallen a good 20-25 short of what they eventually scored.

After Vince departed in the 10th over of the game, it was James Green who took the onus on himself. It was his knock which drove his side to a competitive total. He scored a valiant 49 off 27 balls at a strike-rate of 181, which helped them push past the 150-mark. The experienced guns in the side like Shane Watson and Calum Ferguson failed to score anything significant, which didn’t help their cause.

Green fell one run short of a well-deserved fifty after he ran himself out in the death overs. Arjun Nair and Jay Lenton helped their side with a few big shots in the end and they posted 156 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

It was a superb effort from the Sixers’ bowlers, who were determined to earn their first points of the campaign. Moises Henriques registered the best figures of 2/25 for the Sixers whilst most of the bowlers ensured they didn’t leak runs heavily.

Bowlers drag the game to the last over

The Sixers got off to a flying start with the Englishman Joe Denly absolutely annihilating the bowlers on his BBL debut. He and Daniel Hughes added 69 runs for the first wicket in no time, which made things easy for the other batsmen to come. Denly departed after scoring an entertaining 43 off 29 balls, which included 4 fours and 3 sixes.

After that big partnership with Denly, where he had nothing to do, Hughes stitched another decent stand with Nic Maddinson. Both these players played sensible cricket, without taking many risks. The scoreboard kept moving just according to the required rate and the Thunder bowlers sometimes managed to get under their skin.

It was this tentative approach from both these players that kept the Sydney Thunder alive. Daniel Hughes completed his half-century and in the 17th over, Maddinson got dismissed. Boundaries dried up in the last three overs, which made the crowd sit on the edge of their seats. With 19 needed of 12 balls, some lapses whilst fielding didn’t help Watson’s cause.

The equation boiled down to 9 in the final over, with Henriques and Hughes in the middle. They kept stealing an extra run here and there and with two runs to get off the final ball, Henriques took his side past the finish line. It was breathtaking finish towards the end and full marks for the Sixers for maintaining their composure throughout the run chase.

Brief Scores

Sydney Thunder: 156/6 in 20 overs (Chris Green 49; Moises Henriques 2/25)

Sydney Sixers: 157/2 in 20 overs (Daniel Hughes 66*, Joe Denly 43)

Player of the match: Chris Green

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