Twitter Reactions: Brisbane Heat 'burns' Renegades to hand them 8th defeat of the season

Melbourne Renegades are back to doing what they have done best in this edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21: losing. Up against the Brisbane Heat in the 39th game, they managed an insipid score of 149 for 6 after being put in. The Renegades missed Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman to some extent as they left to meet their national commitments. Meanwhile, owing to his dismal show of late, Aaron Finch demoted himself in the order as Shaun Marsh – who was coming in after his paternity leave – was paired alongside Mackenzie Harvey in a new-look opening pair.

However, Marsh had a forgettable outing as he fell in the opening over of Renegades’ innings as Xavier Bartlett pinned him LBW for a duck. Heat would have got another in the succeeding over had Jack Wildermuth managed to hit the stumps, which would have been the end for Sam Harper, who was caught in the middle of nowhere, taking a single that never was.

Renegades’ toothless show with the bat

The missed chance did not cost much as Harper edged Mark Steketee to the keeper only a couple of overs later, having scored just 15 from 14. On the other hand, Harvey, who earned himself a start as he scored 20 from 14 with a couple of fours and a six, fell prey to a magnificent catch at backward point by Joe Burns off Matthew Kuhnemann. The demotion in the order did not materialize for skipper Finch, who could muster only a run-a-ball 13 before Wildermuth trapped him leg before.

The highlight for the Renegades was Beau Webster’s 40-ball 50, which included two sixes and three boundaries, alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk, who slammed four boundaries and a six in his 40 from 33. Their 58-run stand for the fifth wicket meant that Renegades somehow managed to crawl closer to 150, however, it would not prove enough.

Lynn and Denly set up the chase for Heat

Chasing 150, Heat started well courtesy of a 46-run stand between Max Bryant and Chris Lynn. While the former struggled to score freely, Lynn ensured that the required rate did not soar up. He launched an assault against Imad Wasim, smacking three consecutive boundaries in the 5th over that fetched 14 runs. Looking to make a move on after the initial struggle, Bryant holed out Webster off Peter Hatzoglou after scoring 23 from 26. The wicket cost little to the Heat as Joe Denly added 59 from 46 for the second wicket with Lynn, scoring 31 from 25 himself.

However, once the stand was broken by Richardson, who cleaned up Lynn (50 from 40), the Renegades made a comeback of sorts by reducing 105 for 2 to 117 for 5. Lewis Gregory went for a duck as he edged Prestwidge behind the wickets, whereas Denly and James Bazley fell in a space of 3 deliveries. Needing 22 from the last three overs, Joe Burns came to the rescue of the team as he scored a quick-fire and unbeaten 31 from just 14, guiding the Heat to a five-wicket victory with 8 balls to spare.

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