Winning the toss and electing to bat first in the away game, Melbourne Renegades’ decision to field first seemed to work well when the Thunder batters struggled against the new ball. They lost Cameron Bancroft in the second over to wrap up a 30-run mandatory powerplay before Sherfane Rutherford faltered batting at 61.11 strike rate, courtesy of a tremendous grab from Will Sutherland. While David Warner unleashed his dynamic self against the visitors, bringing up a BBL fifty after eleven years, the middle order failed to assist him despite getting starts. Irrespective of the fact, they piled up 156 runs on board, thanks to Warner’s unbridled 86 off 57 balls.
In response, the Renegades got off to a brisk start with Josh Brown scoring 22 before getting out right after the 33-run powerplay. Tim Seifert and Jacob Bethell failed to assist Jake Fraser-McGurk who looked out of his style on the day. With the score reading 64/2 in ten overs, Fraser-McGurk tried to up the ante and got dismissed before Laurie Evans capitalised on an opted power surge. Following 24 runs in the floating powerplay, Wes Agar struck with back-to-back scalps before Daniel Sams complimented him in the 16th over. They were 105/7 in 16 overs and a wicket of Evans in the 18th over didn’t quite help. With 27 to get, the lower order produced some blitz but it wasn’t enough as the Thunder emerged on the top with a eight run win.
David Warner put on a show for the @ThunderBBL fans in Sydney! ⚡️#BBL14 pic.twitter.com/ZGbhhDHGzp
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 30, 2024
POTM!
38 years old David Warner wins Player of the Match award for scoring 86* runs off just 57 balls. He has still got it! Let’s have him in the PSL Draft now 🇵🇰❤️#BBL14 #tapmad #DontStopStreaming #CatchEveryMatch pic.twitter.com/HZQ1jOj6rY
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) December 30, 2024
Two in two!
Sutherland goes for a first-ball duck, following Mackenzie Harvey back to the dugout…
And Wes Agar is on a hat-trick 👀#BBL14 pic.twitter.com/0kP1AaE9N9— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 30, 2024
