BBL 2016/17, Match 3 Review: Sydney Thunder falters in second consecutive chase

The Melbourne Renegades started off their BBL campaign in style as they registered a fabulous 48 run win over Sydney Thunders in the 3rd match of the tournament at the Docklands Stadium, Melbourne. Batting first, skipper Aaron Finch and Callum Ferguson piloted the Renegades to 179/7 in 20 overs. The duo split the entire first innings between them in some sense as Finch gave a steady start and Ferguson pushing the accelerator towards the end.

West Indian recruits Dwayne Bravo (24 from 16 balls) and Sunil Narine (11 from 4 balls) also made useful cameo appearances. The Thunder, in reply, could emulate the batting performances which they showcased in the tournament opener and could manage just 131 before getting bundled out for just 19.1 overs.

The chase was never on track. It began on an awful note as the chasing side lost two top order batsmen in the first couple of overs. Opener Patterson lost his wicket off the first ball, handing over a catch to the cover point fielder in the opening over while Eoin Morgan threw his wicket in the following over as the scoreboard read 5/2 after two overs. Te lower middle order also could not make any impact. In fact, the tail, starting with the inexperienced Arjun Nair and others was wrapped up in no time by the West Indies duo of Bravo and Narine.

The only saving grace of the Thunders innings was the stand between Ryan Gibson and Pat Cummins who together added 70 runs for the 3 wickets to keep the match alive after the double blow at the start fo the innings. The rest of the story was scripted by the opposition bowlers and the batting side simply walked in, gave their wicket and walked back again.

The Renegade could have in fact made a much bigger total had they tried to be more consistent without losing wickets at regular junctions. Opener Marcus Harris and Finch started off well against the superb Thunder bowling unit featuring the likes of Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Clint McKay.

The duo added 42 in short time before Harris was removed by Russell off the first delivery in final powerplay over. Chris Green, the off break bowler, inflicted another dent to the batting side when he got better of the experienced Cameron White exactly an over after the first wicket fell.

The wicket, fortunately, was a sort of blessing in disguise as it brought Ferguson with Finch and together the duo took the innings forward. The joy of watching them bat smoothly did not last longer as Finch lost his cook while trying to get a hattrick of sixes against Fawad Ahmed, giving a catch to Cummins after having already hit two maximums. This rush of adrenaline brought an end to the fabulous knock which came at a strike rate of 170.27.

The Thunders despite the big wicket were denied any advantage as Bravo combined with Ferguson to keep the run flow steady, adding 40 for the 4th wicket. But, The duo could not create any huge impact were separated in a spectacular fashion when Bravo threw his baton the stumps while following through his shot off bowling McKay’s bowling.

Bravo was flourishing and was running over all the bowlers who came in the way including the 18-year-old debutant Arjun Nair who was smashed for 14 overs and never brought back into the attack. Russell and Cummins kept the 18th and the penultimate overs tight before Narine smashed the former for 12 runs in the last over. Thanks to the last over push, the Renegade posted a commendable target on the board.

Brief Scores:

Melbourne Renegades: 179/7 in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 63; Andre Russell 2/42)

Sydney Thunder: 131 in 19.1 overs (Ryan Gibson 39; Brad Hogg 2/22)

Man of the Match: Aaron Finch