BBL 2016-17, Match 8 Review: Chris Lynn brilliance wins it for Brisbane Heat

Brisbane Heat skipper Brendon McCullum won the toss and asked the Sydney Thunders to bat. The Thunders got off to the worst possible start and lost their first two wickets for only 13 runs. Samuel Badree who has built a reputation for himself to bowl economically in the powerplay overs was the first to strike. Opener Ryan Gibson stepped out to hit Badree out of the ground, but the ball turned enough at the last second to miss the bat and Jimmy Pierson did no mistake in wiping out the bails.

Shane Watson followed Gibbson to the pavilion pretty soon after a brilliant delivery from pacer Mark Steketee breached his defence. It was a perfect delivery which jagged back sharply after pitching. English ODI captain Eoin Morgan joined opener Kurtis Patterson in the middle and the duo batted sensibly for the next 7 overs to share a 48 run partnership for the 4th wicket before Patterson was castled by Mitchell Swepson. It was a quicker delivery from the leg break bowler and skidded off the pitch. It wasn’t an ideal length to cut as the ball crashed on to the stumps.

Hard-hitting Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell joined Morgan in the middle. The duo batted out two quite overs but in the 13th over Morgan went hammers and tongs and fetched 17 runs from the over including two gigantic sixes and a four. Russell was dismissed cheaply by Ben Cutting while he attempted a wild heave over long off. The ball took the inside half of the bat and was safely pouched by Joe Burns. Morgan reached his fifty in 40 balls before he was dismissed by Badree on 52.

Beginning the last over at 130/7, Chris Green smashed 3 sixes in the last 3 deliveries of the innings to propel the Thunders score to 157/7 in their allotted 20 overs. The bowler at the receiving end was Mitchell Swepson.

Chasing 158 to win, the Heats got off to a horrendous start losing both their openers Brendon McCullum and Jimmy Pearson inside the first two overs. Pearson was the first to go as he missed an inswinger from Clinton McKay which struck him adjacent to the stumps. Despite the replays showing the ball would have missed the stumps, Pearson and McCullum decided not to review it.

McCullum was undone by a superb delivery from Pat Cummins. Bowled at 150 kmph, the ball angled towards the middle and leg stump. McCullum swung his bat inside the line and the late movement takes the outside edge of the bat and crashes on to the stumps.

Chris Lynn who came into the middle at the fall of Pearson’s wicket kept losing partners at regular intervals as the Thunders slid to 63/6 in 10 overs. While Pat Cummins breached the defence of Alex Ross yet again with a perfect outswinger, Burns was bowled by a wrong un from leg-spinner Chris Green. Ben Cutting and Jason Floros departed soon as young spinner Fawad Ahmed spun a web around them. While Cutting was dismissed with a flatter trajectory delivery, Floros was dismissed with a beautifully flighted delivery.

With Chris Lynn still at the crease, the Brisbane Heats were hoping for a dramatic comeback. The hard-hitting top order batsman clinched victory from the jaws of defeat by playing a brilliant unbeaten knock of 85 of a mere 48 balls. He struck 10 fours and 3 sixes during his match-winning innings. Especially with the target looking bleak at the end of 16 overs, Lynn decided to take the matter into his own hands. From 113/7 in 16 overs, Lynn struck some lusty blows to take the Heats within touching distance of the victory target. While Lynn scored 18 in the 18th over, he scored 12 in the penultimate overs to bring down the calculation to 5 of 6 balls.

It was just a matter of time before Lynn finished off the match with a couple of balls to spare. It was undoubtedly a scintillating innings from the right-hander as he guided his team to the 2nd successive victory in the competition.

Brief Scores:

Sydney Thunders: 157/7 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 52; Samuel Badree 2/20)

Brisbane Heat: 160/7 in 19.4/20 overs (Chris Lynn 85*; Fawad Ahmed 2/19)

Watch: Chris Lynn’s 48-ball 85* runs: