BBL 2020-21: Match 13, HEA vs STR – Pierson’s record knock, Mujeeb’s dominance against Rashid and more stats

Adelaide Strikers clinched a 2-run win over the Brisbane Heat on Wednesday in the first game of the BBL 2020-21 at the Gabba. Strikers, who batted first, got to 150/6 in their 20 overs thanks to contributions from their batsmen on a slow track. The Adelaide spinners Danny Briggs and Rashid Khan took five wickets between them to reduce the hosts down to 68/8 by 14th over. But the stand-in skipper Jimmy Pierson made it big in the power surge where 43 runs came in two overs. Pierson added 60 runs in just 24 balls with Mujeeb Ur Rahman by scoring an unbeaten 69 off 36 balls but fell three runs short of the target.

Here are all the statistical highlights from Adelaide Strikers’ narrow win during the HEA vs STR game:

Domination of Strikers at the Gabba:

5-1 – Adelaide Strikers now have won five of six matches they played at Brisbane’s Gabba in the BBL. These are the joint-most number of wins for a visiting team at the Gabba in this league. The 7-wicket defeat in the 2019-20 edition was the only time Brisbane Heat managed to defeat Strikers at the Gabba.

Narrow win for the Strikers:

2 – Adelaide Strikers’ 2-win during the HEA vs STR game is now their 2nd narrowest win in the BBL behind the 1-run victory against the Melbourne Renegades in the 2017-18 season. This is also the 2nd time Brisbane Heat lost a BBL game by as few as two runs. They suffered a 1-run defeat in the hands of Melbourne Renegades in 2016-17 while chasing a target of 200.

A record knock in vain:

69* – Jimmy Pierson’s unbeaten 69 is now the highest individual score in the Big Bash League by any player while batting at No.7 or lower position. The previous highest was Beau Webster’s 67* for Hobart Hurricanes, also against the Adelaide Strikers in the 2016-17 season.

1 – The HEA vs STR game marked the captaincy debut of Jimmy Pierson in the T20 format. Pierson has played 63 T20 matches before Wednesday and 62 of them for the Brisbane Heat only.

A record stand to Brisbane’s rescue:

60 – Jimmy Pierson and Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s stand of 60 runs is now the highest partnership for the 9th wicket in the BBL. The pair went past Jordan Silk and Nathan Lyon pair’s 48-run stand for the Sydney Sixers in the 2014-15 season which also came against Adelaide Strikers.

The pair of Pierson and Mujeeb did hold the record of the highest 10th wicket stand in the BBL when they put on 48 runs in the 2018-19 season against the Strikers. However, earlier this season, the Strikers pair of Danny Worrall and Danny Briggs broke the record with an unbeaten 61-run stand against Hobart Hurricanes.

Rashid tops Strikers’ chart:

61 – The two wickets in the HEA vs STR game helped Rashid Khan to become the leading wicket-taker in the Big Bash League for the Adelaide Strikers. Rashid’s tally of 61 wickets has surpassing Ben Laughlin’s 60 BBL wickets for the Strikers.

Mujeeb gets the better of Rashid yet again:

308.33 – Mujeeb Ur Rahman now has a batting strike rate of 308.33 in Twenty20 cricket against Rashid Khan. Mujeeb scored 37 runs in just 12 balls against Rashid without being dismissed. The off-spinner smashed three sixes and four fours off Rashid’s bowling in the T20 format.

Wells @ 2000 runs:

2024 – Jonathan Wells completed 2000 T20 runs when he went past his individual score of 7 runs during HEA vs STA game. Wells has aggregated 2024 runs in the T20 format thus far out of which 1953 runs came on the Australian soil including 1865 runs in the Big Bash League.