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The Adelaide Strikers recorded a remarkable victory over the Sydney Sixers on New Years Eve, thanks to an incredible knock from Travis Head.
REPORT: STRIKERS WIN NAILBITER
The Strikers looked nearly finished with three overs left to go still requiring 51 runs off the remaining 18 balls but Sean Abbott’s bowling proved to be the perfect platform for Travis Head to launch an amazing comeback.
Head hit 27 runs off that 18th over and he along with Adil Rashid kept the pacing going in the 19th as well. They entered the last over with 13 runs needed.
Abbott was the only bowling option left for the Sixers but he just couldn’t do anything to stop Head, who hit three sixes in a row off the first three deliveries, bringing up a century and winning the match with three balls to spare.
It was an incredible finish to a high-quality game of cricket which also saw Brad Haddin make a half-century for the Sixers, Rashid take 3/34 as the best of the Strikers bowlers, and Ben Dwarshius take 3/25 as the best for the Sixers.
The match may well prove to be the death of the Sixers in this BBL season as they now move to a 2-3 record and may be without Haddin (groin) and Michael Lumb (hamstring) who both finished the match on the sidelines.
Final score
Sydney Sixers 5/176
Adelaide Strikers 5/182
The Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Sixers are both looking to solidify their spots in the Big Bash League top four when they face each other at Adelaide Oval on New Year’s Eve. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match starting at 7:10pm AEDT.
The Sixers and the Strikers find themselves third and fourth on the BBL table respectively coming into this match however the Sixers don’t have a lot of breathing space as they’ve played a game more than the rest of the competition, and will be two games ahead of most after tonight.
So far their season has included a first-ever loss to their crosstown rivals the Sydney Thunder and most recently a loss to the Melbourne Stars, bookending an absolute demolition of the Hobart Hurricanes and a solid win over the Melbourne Renegades.
A win tonight is vital for them to maintain a positive win-loss record, but that will be a tough task for them. They’re without captain Moises Henriques – who will now likely miss the rest of the tournament due to a calf injury – as well as Test-squad players Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe.
The Strikers on the other hand have a great chance tonight to seriously stake their claim on a finals berth in this BBL season, if they win they will improve to a 3-1 record at the halfway point of the tournament, with their only loss to date coming against the ladder-leading Sydney Thunder.
It’s also a great chance for them to get some serious payback on the Sixers after a massive disappointment in last season’s semi-final. The Strikers then hosted the Sixers in the first vs fourth play-off after being the best team in the home-and-away season, but flopped horribly in the final, bowled out in less than fifteen overs for 94 runs.
Prediction: The Strikers might be the lower side on the ladder at the moment but there’s a little bit of smoke and mirrors in that considering the Sixers have played an extra game. Given the Sixers’ outs, the Strikers look to be the better team and should win tonight.
Join The Roar for a live blog of the match starting at 7:10pm AEDT.