Twitter Reactions: Hales-Khawaja outsmart Renegades in a rain-curtailed encounter

Thunder were 7 runs ahead of the par score when another shower interrupted the proceedings.

By Pratyay Tiwari

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2 Min Read

Alex Hales
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Alex Hales. (Photo source: Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Languishing at the bottom of the table, the Melbourne Renegades found some reason to celebrate against the Sydney Thunder, when the team set a stiff target for the opponents in a rain-marred encounter. Reduced to a 17-over-per-side affair, the 22nd encounter witnessed some quick-fire action from Shaun Marsh’s bat after Callum Ferguson had invited the Renegades to bat first.

Much like their previous encounters, the Renegades’ opening stand did not last too long as Nathan McAndrew struck in the third over and made skipper Aaron Finch top-edge a length delivery to wicketkeeper Sam Billings. Finch looked positive during his 13-ball stay, hitting a six and four before being dismissed for 18. From his end, Marsh continued to flow and slammed a couple of fours on the deliveries that immediately followed Finch’s departure.

Marsh’s blitz powers Renegades to a competitive score

The new man, Sam Harper, missed out as he failed to pull a Chris Tremain short delivery, and picked Ollie Davies guarding at deep fine leg when he was at 7. Marsh managed to keep the momentum up as he hit a four and six in the following over of Chris Green, to collect 14. At number 4, Riley Rossouw had a forgettable outing, as he unsuccessfully slog-swept Jason Sangha in the next over, and failed to clear midwicket.

Renegades did not lose another wicket for as many as 56 balls as Mohammad Nabi joined Marsh in the middle, to add a spectacular 90 runs for the fourth wicket. 99 for 3 after 12, the heavens opened up as both the teams had to take a half an hour break, which also led to the reduction of 3 overs per side. Continuing from where they left, Marsh and Nabi picked 14 runs immediately after the resumption. To make matters worse for Thunder, Chris Green dropped Marsh at 66, after making a tremendous effort to reach to the ball.

The Thunder made a slight comeback when Nathan McAndrew struck twice in the penultimate over, dismissing Marsh (87 from 48) – who holed out to midwicket, and Mohammad Nabi, who fell identically a couple of deliveries later, after scoring 33 from 24. Finishing at 166 for 6, the target set for Thunder to win as per DLS was 173.

Hales-Khawaja keep Thunder ahead

Being aware of the stiffness of the target, Alex Hales went berserk as he slammed four boundaries off Imad Wasim in the second over. He slammed Perry for a couple of fours and as many sixes in the fourth over before the debutant struck on the last ball of his over. Slapping a knee-high full toss, Hales (45 from 19) fell to a spectacular catch at point by Harvey.

Though his dismissal led to a significant drop in the scoring, Usman Khawaja (48 from 34), alongside Callum Ferguson and Sam Billings, managed to keep the score ahead of the DLS par score. Thunder were 7 runs ahead of the par score when another shower (during the 12th over) interrupted the proceedings. Realizing that no further play was possible, the umpires called off the match, as Thunder won by 7 runs (D/L method) to register their 5th consecutive win of the tournament.

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