Twitter Reactions: Dan Christian's mayhem blows away Adelaide Strikers at Hobart

Daniel Christian battered the Adelaide Strikers through a 16-ball 50 to guide Sydney Sixers to a 38-run win at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Being put to bat first after the Strikers’ skipper Alex Carey won the toss, the Sixers failed to make a good start. Josh Phillipe laboured his way to 6 runs from 12 balls, before Daniel Worrall’s length ball was gloved by the batsman into the hands of the wicketkeeper.

Short’s partner, Jack Edwards, failed to make his outing count too, as he became Worrall’s second prey to leave his team 29 for 2. Having made the early inroads, Wes Agar and Rashid Khan continued delivering at tight lines as Daniel Hughes and James Vince struggled to gain momentum.

Their third-wicket partnership of 29 from 30 was brought to an end by Rashid Khan, who knocked over Vince (19 from 19) after being smacked for a six in the same over. At 58 for 3 in the 12th over, there was barely a thing that seemed going Strikers’ way, however, things would change soon and rather inexplicably as Dan Christian entered with belligerent intentions.

Dan Christian’s mayhem 

Taking the attack to the opposition in search of gaining some momentum, Christian slammed Liam Scott for 22 runs in the 13th over. A couple of sixes off Rashid took him to 38 off just 12 deliveries. Taking the Power Surge, as if there was any less power ever since Christian entered, the Strikers effected a complete turnaround.

However, after slapping three consecutive fours and racing off to 50 from merely 15 balls – the second-fastest half-century of the tournament – Christian fell to Agar after he skied one to midwicket, where he picked Wells. Though the Sixers tapped the scoring after Christian’s madness, his knock ensured that his team reached a competitive total of 177.

Also Read: Prithvi Shaw’s motivational message

Sixers crumble after a quick-fire start

Giving their team an ideal start with the bat, openers Phil Salt (28 from 16) and Jake Weatherald (27 from 15) added 52 in merely 4.3 overs, before Salt miscalculated a fuller delivery from Christian and nicked it to Josh Phillippe behind the wickets. After the end of Salt, Weatherald followed soon as Benjamin Manenti struck in the next over to get the batsman caught by Ben Dwarshuis at point.

Two quick wickets led to some more, and despite their rollicking start, the Sixers lost Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey, and Matthew Short cheaply and quickly to find themselves 81 for 5. Losing their entire middle-order without any substantial contributions choked them up as the required run-rate kept running out of their reach.

Though Jonathan Wells stood at one end scoring 36 from 38, he rarely got any support as wickets continued to fall from the other end. Needing an impossible 47 from the last over, the Sixers fell 38 runs short, to give their opponents a rather convincing victory.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: