BBL 07, Final, Review: Jake Weatherald's ton helps Strikers win their first ever BBL title

Hurricanes looked completely out of sorts on the day and were never allowed to make a comeback.

Published - 04 Feb 2018, 14:15 IST | Updated - 04 Feb 2018, 14:15 IST

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Adelaide Strikers have won their maiden Big Bash League (BBL) title by beating Hobart Hurricanes in style in front of the home crowd. It was the century of Jake Weatherald which shocked the visitors as they never recovered after conceding over 200 runs with the ball. Strikers were absolutely ruthless on the day and didn’t put a foot wrong. However, Hurricanes came out with some bizarre tactics and had to pay for the same as they lost the match by 25 runs.

While chasing 203 runs to win their first BBL crown, Hurricanes lost their opener Tim Paine in the very first over. Surprisingly, the Man of the Match of the semi-final, Matthew Wade wasn’t sent as the skipper George Bailey came out to bat. He, along with D’Arcy Short 81 runs in almost 9 overs and kept his side in the hunt. But once the former was dismissed, it was all one-way traffic. Short looked scratchy during his stay in the middle and also tried his best by scoring 68 off 44 deliveries in the latter stages of the chase.

But the bowling of the home side was too good on the day and they never felt the absence of their best leggie Rashid Khan. Wade was sent at 6 and was run out without playing even a delivery. He was livid in the dugout and stormed himself into the change room after that. Eventually, they could only make 177 runs for the loss of five wickets and fell short of the target by a considerable margin.

Peter Siddle was the hero with the ball for the Strikers as he ended with the figures of 3/17. All the other bowlers bowled extremely well as they had a lot of runs in the bank to defend. It was a perfect outing for the home side and much to the liking of the crowd they won the title clash quite comfortably on the day.

What happened earlier?

Earlier, Travis Head called it correctly at the toss as the Strikers opted to bat first on a flat pitch. Alex Carey was back to opening the innings for them along with Jake Weatherald. They started off cautiously settling the nerves of playing their maiden BBL final. But the former was castled by the off-cutter of Jofra Archer in the fifth over for only 18 runs in 16 deliveries. The skipper Head then joined the other opener and what followed was an absolute carnage. Weatherald stuck into the bowlers of the visitors and played a memorable knock.

Weatherald sets Adelaide Oval on fire

It was a sea of blue in the Stadium which was jam-packed and there were only a few supporters unfortunately of the Hurricanes. Weatherald, inspired by all the cheering of the spectators started to middle everything. He took the liking to every bowler that came in his way. Head played second fiddle to him perfectly and allowed the left-hander to farm more strike. He was exceptional in his shot-making and became the first player to score the century in the BBL final.

It was a complete treat to watch as he set the stage ablaze with his batting and was only dismissed in the 19th over on 115 off just 70 deliveries. His knock was studded with 9 fours and 8 gigantic maximums. On the other hand, Head played a captain’s innings as well and remained unbeaten on 44 off 29 balls with a couple of fours and a solitary six. In the end, it was Colin Ingram who provided the final touches as Strikers posted a mammoth total of 202 runs for the loss only a couple of wickets.

They had posted an above par total which always going to be tough chasing for the visitors and as it turned out they fell short of the target. Adelaide Strikers won the Big Bash League for the first time playing in their maiden final. There were all smiles on the ground as the home team had won the coveted title and who other than Jake Weatherald was named the Man of the Match.

There were completely contrasting emotions in the other camp as Hurricanes got their plans horribly wrong in the title clash. But they would be proud of themselves the way they played throughout the tournament and thrashed the defending champions in the semi-final.