Yet another BBL final and yet another time you’ll see Perth Scorchers in a BBL final fighting for the trophy as they beat Brisbane heat by 49 runs (DLS Method) in a rain affected game.
After winning the toss Brisbane Heat decided to bowl first in the challenger which was played at the Manuka Oval.
The Scorchers suffered a huge blow before the match as star batsman J.Roy was ruled out due to an ankle injury . It seemed that this blow had put the Scorchers in the back foot before the match as J.Roy was constantly performing for the Scorchers whenever he was given an opportunity and everyone thought this would leave a big hole for the Scorchers in the night of the challenger. But his fellow Englishman L.Livingstone had different plans as he ensured that the Scorchers don’t miss the services of J.Roy.
Livingstone and C.Banroft had a century run stand for the opening wicket which had put the Scorchers in a strong position . Despite playing just 5 games this season , C.Bancroft , who replaced the in-form J.Roy , fully grabbed the opportunity that was provided as he scored an unbeaten 58(42) which included six boundaries.
His aggressive aggressive opening partner L.Livingstone looked a bit uncomfortable in front X.Bartlett as he was getting some swing with the new ball . But he took the attack to the Heat Bowlers as he made full advantage of the power play and attacked the rest of the bowling attack.
He targeted the straight boundaries and the midwicket region as the Heat bowlers were trying go keep the line of attack straight . L.Livingstone scored a powerful 77(39) which included five fours and six massive sixes. M.Marsh provided the steam at the back end of the Scorchers innings as he exhibited some extraordinary striking by scoring an impactful 49(28) . The Scorchers were 189 after 18.1 overs as rain poured down and the Brisbane Heat were set a revised target of 200 in 18 overs which was a tough task.
Heat’s reply –
With the required run rate peeping up , the Heat batsmen were always under the pressure as they expected a good solid opening run stand to set the stage . C.Lynn was looking really good as he struck some good strokes off J.Behrendorff ‘s bowling. But he perished as he was bowled by an absolute peach by Behrendorff who had the last laugh by dismissing C.Lynn for 22. After losing some crucial wickets in the beginning, the heat batsmen departed at regular intervals trying to keep up with the scoring rate.
With some disciplined and ruthless bowling , the Scorchers were always in control by not conceding runs which created pressure on the batting side as they felt the pinch of the high required run rate . J.Burns played a handy knock of 38 but ran out of partners and overs . Brisbane Heat could only manage 150/9 on the board after the end of 18 overs as the Scorchers progressed on to their 6th final of the Big Bash League. A.Hardie was the pick of the bowlers for Scorchers as he picked 3 wickets as Behrendorff, Ahmad and Tye picked 2 wickets each . L.Livingstone was declared the man of the match for his excellent 77.
It will be the Sydney Sixers vs the Perth Scorchers in this year’s final which will be played on 6th February . It will be an interesting contest between two gun sides as both teams will share the memory of playing the inaugural BBL final in which the Sixers had the better of the Scorchers. But both the teams have reached this year’s final after some impressive performance.