At the halfway stage, Brisbane Heat was bottom placed team but now they have revived themselves in some fashion. They are right into the finals after defeating tournament favourites Sydney Sixers at the SCG.
A team that they defeated before at Gabba and strolled 147 runs in 13 overs in a washed out match. When they came into this match, clearly they were on the unfavourable side but it’s always result that matters not opinions.
After winning the toss, Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques decided to bat first. And. For initial powerplay, it proved to be a good decision but unfortunately once the 5 overs passed, everything began to fall in their case.
The Sixers struggled throughout the first innings to score runs and what’s worse was added that they lost wickets on consistent basis.
M Kuhnemann (17 for 3) bowled decisively and pushed Sydney Sixers in backfoot. The pitch was relatively slow but inbetween the overs, the Sixers failed to make any kind of imposing dominance over bowlers.
It was really their mindset that pushed them away from the silverware for another year. Daniel Hughes (23 off 24 balls) was the highest scorer for the team, clearly they missed Steve Smith who is on national duty to India.
Josh Philippe (16 off 16 balls) didn’t get going once again as the horrible tournament ends for him without any substantial contribution to the team. Dan Christian (7 off 12 balls) played his last match in magenta for the Sixers, it was his last career cricket match. He would have hoped for qualification to the finals but destiny guided him other way.
While chasing 117, Brisbane Heat started a well but a foolish single attempt cost them first wicket of the game. Josh Brown (20 off 18 balls) gave a good start but soon fell victim to Ben Dwarshuis while trying to fetch one over the covers.
At one stage, Brisbane Heat were 56 for 5 in 10.1 overs and it looked that the game was in balance. But things changed for good when Michael Neser came to bat. He didn’t took much time to get going and smashed second over of power surge for 17 runs.
The equation favoured Brisbane Heat and from that moment only a magical spell could have saved Sydney Sixers from loss. But it doesn’t happen everyday. Michael Neser (48 off 32 balls) cruised Brisbane Heat to the victory in a decisive match.
Now, Perth Scorchers will face Brisbane Heat on 4 February. Perth Scorchers have an advantage over Brisbane Heat as they have defeated them two times this season. But as we know finals are all about having the ability to soak pressure and elevate your game. Any team can beat any team on a given day.