Afghan Spinner Rashid Khan took three wickets but Philippe, Vince and Silk helped Sydney Sixers beat Adelaide Strikers by seven wickets in Big Bash League.
🔛🔝 of the @BBL ladder!#smashemsixers #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/hBnd206Gyt
— Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) January 3, 2021
The Strikers got off to a horrible start as they lost both their openers inside two overs. Philip Salt (1) was caught at mid-wicket in the bowling of Ben Dwarshuis, while Matt Renshaw (6) was undone by offspinner Ben Manenti.
Skipper Alex Carey announced his arrival with a boundary but both him and Jonathan Wells struggled to score at a decent pace.
Remarkably, the Strikers scored just seven runs during the two-over power surge while they also lost Carey after a frustrating knock of 31 off 31 deliveries.
But Wells slowly upped the tempo after Carey’s departure, finding the boundary as he and Jake Weatherald saw the Strikers finally reach 100.
Wells was dismissed off the final ball but only after he had slammed eight fours in his 56-ball 66. He found good support from Jake Weatherald (24-ball 34*) who smoked two sixes in the final over and got Adelaide to a competitive total of 150/4 in their 20 overs.
A solid partnership from Wellsy (66) & Weathers (34*) gets us 150 to defend 🤝
Time for the bowling unit to get to work 👊#BlueEnergy #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/locUudyTAJ
— Adelaide Strikers (@StrikersBBL) January 3, 2021
Christian finished with figures of 1/22, but Ball proved to be expensive in his last two overs. The right-arm seamer was slammed for 35 runs in his last two overs.
Chasing 151 to win, Sydney duo Josh Philippe and Jake Edwards conjured 47 runs from the first four powerplay overs to get the required run-rate under six per over.
Josh Philippe (24-ball 41) got Syndey off to a flying start before Rashid picked up three wickets in no time to bring Adelaide back in the game. James Vince (33-ball 45*) and Jordan Silk (28-ball 38*) however batted smartly and got the job done with two overs to spare. Fullscorecard
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: – Josh Philippe
Josh Philippe made batting look easy to give the Sixers the start they needed in the run chase!#BBL10 | @KFCAustralia pic.twitter.com/mUqsY5MH0j
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2021
Sixers opener Josh Philippe (41 off 24) burst out of the blocks in the run chase, making a mockery of what bordered on a go-slow approach from the Strikers at times through their batting innings. At is best, the right-hander is one long highlights reel and there was no shortage of delightful stroke-play tonight. He was ultimately undone by the best in Rashid Khan, and later admonished himself in a TV interview for trying to cover drive the Afghan spinner, but it was an innings that set up the match for the Sixers.
Rashid Khan causing all sorts of problems and Sixers gun Josh Philippe had to react in real-time watching from the sidelines! #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/TmxIEMQ6jD
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2021
A stroll in the park for the Sixers and they go to the top of the table – 2 points clear of Sydney Thunder. The second half of the match was literally Sixers vs Rashid Khan. After the Sixers’ openers got them off to a flier – scoring 47 off the mandatory powerplay (4 overs), the Afghanistan leggie nipped out both the batsmen. Just when another partnership started to build, he returned to trap Hughes lbw. Post that, it was one-way traffic as Silk and James Vince coupled aggression with sensible cricket. They played their strokes against the other bowlers and smartly played out Rashid’s final over.
The Sixers climb to the top of the table! #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/FRH7IuLNFB
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2021
Playing XIs
Adelaide Strikers: Jake Weatherald, Philip Salt, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (c & wk), Jonathan Wells, Ryan Gibson, Rashid Khan, Daniel Worrall, Danny Briggs, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle.
X-Factor subs: Harry Nielsen, Harry Conway
Sydney Sixers: Josh Philippe (wk), Jack Edwards, James Vince, Daniel Hughes (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Ben Dwarshuis, Ben Manenti, Jake Ball, Lloyd Pope.
X-Factor subs: Hayden Kerr, Gurinder Sandhu