Twitter Reactions: Mohammad Nabi's lionhearted effort brings the Renegades' victory drought to a halt

Finally, finally a moment of exuberance for the Melbourne Renegades, who have managed to snap a whopping streak of seven losses, chasing down 178 against the Adelaide Strikers to win by 6 wickets and a ball to spare.

Winning the toss in the 33rd encounter of the league phase, the Strikers elected to bat first. Given the way their top-order struck and led them to a healthy 177 for 7, skipper Alex Carey would not have been whining much at the halfway mark. Openers Matt Renshaw and Phil Salt took the Strikers to a dazzling start as they targeted the bowlers and managed to find gaps with the utmost ease. Adding 61 for the first wicket, their stand was brought to an end in the 7th over, when Renshaw, who looked positive during his 30 from 23, lofted a slightly wide half-volley from Jack Prestwidge straight to mid-off.

Solid stuff from the top-order leads Strikers to 177

The breakthrough did not break the momentum for too long as Alex Carey found himself at ease in the middle, whereas Salt continued in his rhythm and notched up his half-century in 34 balls from the other end. In a bid to up the momentum, the Strikers invoked the Power Surge as soon as the 12th over ended, and Carey initiated the Surge in some style as he slammed Richardson for consecutive sixes in the 25-run 15th over. Having struck three fours and as many sixes, Carey miscued a hoick to mid-on in the next over, as Imad Wasim brought his 25-ball 42 to an end.

Peter Hatzoglou’s twin strikes in the next over – Salt (59 from 42) picked Harvey at midwicket, and Ryan Gibson was cleaned up scoring just 1 – halted the Strikers to some extent, although Jake Weatherald (19 from 10) and Jonathan Wells (16 from 13) dragged them over 175.

Mohammad Nabi bosses the chase for Renegades

Given their recent run of form, the 178-run target would have seemed daunting, especially with a batting mainstay in Mitchell Marsh absent from their ranks. The openers – Aaron Finch and Mackenzie Harvey – did not take the team to a flying start, nevertheless, their 31-run stand was certainly better than what Renegades’ top-order has been able to muster of late.

They lost both their openers by the 5th over as Finch (14 from 15) was pinned leg before wicket by Wes Agar, whereas Danny Briggs knocked over Harvey after he scored 14 from 13. The talisman for the Renegades with the bat was Mohammad Nabi, who slammed 9 fours and a couple of sixes, in his Player of the Match performance of 71 from 41. He ensured to tightly hold his end up even as other batsmen failed to convert their starts into innings of substance. Having added 24 and 42 with Sam Harper (18 from 14) and Jack Prestwidge (14 from 13), for the third and fourth respectively, Nabi got some responsible support from James Fraser-McGurk, who contributed 29 runs in the match-winning 68-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Despite the victory, the Renegades continue to occupy the last spot in the table, whereas, with four wins in nine fixtures, the Strikers are situated at the fourth spot currently.

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