BBL: Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Stars in a thrilling last-ball finish in Big Bash opener

Sydney Thunder defeated Melbourne Stars by one wicket in the Big Bash League opener, which had a low-scoring total. The match was decided on the last ball. Thunder needed eight runs from the final over and had three wickets in hand, but Beau Webster got two wickets in two balls, including Chris Green, who was caught at long off by replacement fielder Brody Couch with an incredible one-handed catch. Thunder then needed one run from two balls after Gurinder Sandhu scored six runs on the fourth ball of the over to level the score.

In the Big Bash, Sydney Thunder defeated Melbourne Stars.

After Sandhu played and missed the penultimate delivery with a dot ball, the thrilling curtain-raiser at Canberra’s Manuka Oval was won by Thunder after English wicketkeeper Joe Clarke failed to gather. The Stars were swiftly placed under duress after being asked to bat first; they lost both openers within five overs as the bowlers maintained their dominance on a two-paced surface.

Also Read :DriveNets Scores $208 Million in Funding at a Whopping $1 Billion Valuation

Despite having tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the game, Joe Burns and Marcus Stoinis were both allowed to play. However, the former was forced to leave the game with an apparent hamstring injury, and the latter was disqualified for a golden duck. The Stars had a strong start with the ball after stumbling to 122-8, dismissing Matthew Gilkes and Rilee Rossouw for ducks in his opening over. Throughout the innings, wickets kept coming at regular intervals, three of them to Nathan Coulter-Nile, but the Thunder still managed to reach home despite falling to 57-5 and then 89-7.

Longtime rival franchise Twenty20 tournaments in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates made it seem like the Big Bash would start off quietly in a year when the league needed to make a splash. The Stars only struck eight boundaries in their innings, so there was none of the typical T20 cricket crash, bang, and wallop to be heard. Even the wickets lacked any notable excitement, as there were no flying catches or stumps that went cartwheeling.

You can watch the full match in our SQM CLUB

The Thunder innings were largely similar, but that will be forgotten because of a spectacular conclusion that showed what a great payoff low-scoring games can offer. What about catches that fly? Ground-level pillars? Is the rope causing the ball to bounce? The decisive hit by Sandhu for six, Webster’s six-run bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Couch’s daring run and leap to grab a spectacular catch were all in the final over. The Big Bash is back with a vengeance after a brief hiatus.

Also Read: How to Collect Robux for FREE!