Thomas Kelly

Abhishek Singh ∙ 21 Dec 2021

BBL 11 | Sean Abbott’s record-breaking show helps Sixers clinch close encounter with Strikers

Rashid Khan with his magnificent last over of the four-over spell almost brought Adelaide Strikers back into the game and also put them in an advantageous position. He removed the two most dangerous men in the Sydney Sixers batting lineup skipper Mises Henriques and Dan Christian in consecutive deliveries at a time when the team in pink and black was cruising towards victory, needing only 33 from four overs with seven wickets in hand. With the pressure of first stopping the hattrick and then getting his team to victory alongside Jordan Silk, Sean Abbott walked on to the pitch. He not only defended the hattrick but managed to get three runs in the next three balls. In the 19th over, when Sixers needed 19 off 12, Abbott first of all hit five of the first two balls and even as Silk got out on the third ball, the all-rounder at the other end was determined to get to a victory. The 29-year-old hit two fours on the last three balls of the 19th over bowled by George Garton and brought the winning equation down to run a ball. However, he was not needed in the last over as Hayden Kerr hit a double and a six in the first two balls itself off the Peter Siddle over to finish the game and get a well-deserved win in his team’s favour. Abbott remained unbeaten on 19 off 10 balls. The chase by the Sixers was considerably slow as they could get to only 44 in the seventh over and also lost a crucial wicket of James Vince. Soon Josh Philippe and Daniel Hughes also got out to leave Sixers reeling at 63-3. It was then that Henriques and Silk got together for an important 52 runs partnership which most importantly came of just 39 balls. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss and deciding to bat first at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Strikers didn’t get the desired start as they lost both their openers with only 25 runs on the board. It was then that Jonny Wells and Matt Renshaw got into a partnership and added 59 runs in just 39 balls for the third wicket. However, that was the only partnership of significance even as Thomas Kelly tried his best to develop partnerships with almost every batter. In the end, thanks to Kelly’s 41 off 34 balls, Strikers managed to get 147-8 in their 20 overs. For the Sixers, Abbott and Christian picked three wickets each. In this process, the New South Wales player also took over Brisbane Heat and BBL legend Ben Laughlin as the leading wicket-taker in the history of the league. Abbott now has 112 wickets in only 83 games. Laughlin took 11 in 93 matches.