The Phoebe Litchfield-led side defeated the Hobart Hurricanes led by skipper Elyse Villani by 6 wickets in the knockout game of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 10, at the Drummoyne Oval, Sydney, to book a spot in the Challenger against the Brisbane Heat led by skipper Jess Jonassen.
Hannah Darlington and Taneale Peschel lead Sydney Thunder to a respectable total
The Thunder openers Georgia Voll and Chamari Athapaththu got their side off to a steady start with a 25-run opening stand after the opposition skipper Jess Jonassen won the toss and opted to field first. Nicola Hancock picked up the wicket of Georgia Voll to provide the first breakthrough for Brisbane Heat. A horrible collapse saw Sydney Thunder lose their next 6 wickets for just 44 runs, collapsing to 7/69.
However, the Sydney Thunder eventually ended up with a competitive total of 133/7 in their quota of overs, courtesy of Taneale Peschel and Hannah Darlington’s unbeaten 64-run 8th wicket partnership that took them to the three-figure mark. Hannah Darlington (40* off 29 balls), Taneale Peschel (24* off 16 balls), and Georgia Voll (20 off 16 balls) were the stand-out performers with the bat for Sydney Thunder.
Grace Parsons (3-0-10-3), skipper Jess Jonassen (4-0-33-2), Lucy Hamilton (3-0-19-1), and Charli Knott (3-0-18-0), were the key performers with the ball for Brisbane Heat.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Georgia Redmayne make light work of the run chase
Chasing a total of 134, Brisbane Heat lost the wicket of Grace Harris in the 2nd over of the run chase with Samantha Bates providing the first breakthrough for Sydney Thunder. However, the pair of Georgia Redmayne and Jemimah Rodrigues (43* off 30 balls) were cruising along in the run chase with a solid 75-run 2nd wicket partnership, with Jemimah leading the chase. However, the seasoned Indian batter experienced discomfort and had to retire hurt in the 10th over of the run chase.
Charli Knott (19* off 16 balls) replaced her at the crease to join the opening batter Georgia Redmayne (50* off 41 balls) and the duo took their side over the line with 9 wickets in hand and 28 balls to spare. Samantha Bates (3.2-0-25-1), and Shabnim Ismail (4-0-21-0) stood out with the ball for Sydney Thunder.
Grace Parsons was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell of 3-0-10-3 with the ball, playing a crucial role with the ball to set up a thumping 9-wicket victory and book their spot for a 4th WBBL final appearance.
The Jess Jonassen-led side will be up against Melbourne Renegades led by skipper Sophie Molineux in the battle for glory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1st December 2024 from 7:50 AM IST.
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