Hobart Hurricanes became the first team to reach the final of the 14th season of the Big Bash League (BBL). The team has made it to the title match after 7 years. On Tuesday, Hobart beat three-time champions Sydney Sixers by 12 runs in the qualifiers. Fast bowler Riley Meredith who took 2 wickets in the Powerplay was the player of the match.
Batting first in Hobart, the table topper home team scored 173 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Sydney made a comeback after losing the opening wicket, but the team could only manage 161 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. The Hurricanes will now play the final in Hobart on January 27.
A quick start to Hobart Sydney won the toss and elected to bowl at Bellerive Oval. Hobart got off to a quick start from openers Mitchell Owen and Caleb Jewell. Both shared 47 runs in just 4 overs. Oval was dismissed for 36 runs, after which Matthew Wade also returned to the pavilion for just 4 runs.
Ben McDermott played an innings of 42 runs.
Ben McDermott then shared a fifty with Jewell for the third wicket. Jewell was dismissed after scoring 40 runs. In the end, McDermott scored 42 runs, Tim David 25 runs and Nikhil Chaudhary 14 runs to take the score to 173 runs. Ben Dwarshus and Jafar Chauhan took 2 wickets each for Sydney. Jack Edwards and Michelle Perry went 1-1.
Sydney did not allow Hobart to cross the mark of 180 runs by bowling brilliantly.
Bad start for Sydney Chasing the target of 174 runs, the Sydney Sixers got off to a bad start. The team lost 3 wickets in just 5 runs. Captain Moises Henriques could only score 1 run, while Josh Phillips and Jack Edwards could not even open the account. Meredith took 2 wickets and Cameron Gannon took 1 wicket in the powerplay.
Silke-Patterson took over the inning After 3 wickets fell early, opener Curtis Patterson took over the innings along with Jordan Silk. The duo added 75 runs when Patterson was dismissed for 48 runs. Silk then shared a 64-run partnership with Lachlan Shaw. After that, Silk was dismissed for 57 runs.
Jordan Silk scored a fifty, but could not lead his team to victory.
Lachlan and Ben Dwarshus finally tried to lead the team to victory, but the target proved too big. Dwarshus was unbeaten on 16 and Lachlan was unbeaten on 33, but the team could only manage 161 for the loss of 5 wickets. Meredith and Gannon took 2 wickets each for Hobart. One breakthrough went to Captain Nathan Ellis.
Hobart book the home final By winning the qualifier, Hobart punched their ticket to play the final at home. The team will now play the title match on January 27. The Sydney team will face the knockout winners in the Challenger on January 24 at their home ground. Melbourne Stars will take on Sydney Thunder tomorrow in the knockouts.
The team that loses in the knockout will be eliminated, while the winning team will face Sydney in the challenger. The team that wins the Challenger will play the final against Hobart on January 27. While the losing team will finish the tournament at number-3.
Hobart reached the final after 7 years Hobart have made it to the BBL final after 7 years. The team last played in the final in 2017–18 against the Adelaide Strikers, but they lost. Hobart previously lost the final to the Perth Scorchers in 2013-14. Now the team is desperate to win its first title.
On the other hand Sydney Sixers are 3 time champions. The team captured the title in 2011-12, 2019-20 and 2020-21. The team lost to Brisbane Heat in the final last season. Even before this, the team became the runner-up three times.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).