On Thursday, the defending champions Brisbane Heat were knocked out in the second semi-final by Sydney Thunder, who made it to its second WBBL final in six years.
It was a cracker of a contest between the two evenly poised sides. Both the teams fought tooth and nail and in the end Sydney Thunder had the last laugh when Sammy-Jo Johnson caught and bowled Delissa Kimmince for a golden duck, beating the defending champions by 12 runs.
An excellent comeback led by the bowlers helped Sydney Thunder 143/6 Haynes 48*)
beat
Brisbane Heat 131/10 (L Kimmince 37, Darlington 3-19)
by 12 runs
The Finals to be played on 28th Nov. #WBBL2020 | #WBBL06 pic.twitter.com/iEnTScGjAn
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 26, 2020
Early in the day, Brisbane Heat skipper Jess Jonassen won the toss and elected to field first. Putting in to bat, Sydney Thunder amassed 143-6 in 20 overs, riding on captain Rachael Haynes’s impactful knock of 48 (44). Her innings was laced with four boundaries and a six. With the ball, Nadine de Klerk was the pick of the bowlers for Heat as she scalped 2-11 in her three overs, including the crucial wicket of English captain Heather Knight (17).
Chasing 144, Heat did not get off to the best of starts as it lost their opening bat Grace Harris (6) cheaply in the second over. Though Laura Kimmince (37) with the help of Georgia Redmayne (25) and Nadine de Klerk (27) looked to consolidate, the Thunder bowling attack just struck at the right intervals. The defending champions lost two wickets each in the 16th and 18th over which hampered their chances to win. Credit goes to Hannah Darlington (3-19), who found able allies in Sammy-Jo Johnson (2-14) and Samantha Bates (2-37). They hunted in pairs and steered their team to its second WBBL final.
Brief Scores: Sydney Thunder 143-6 in 20 overs (R Haynes 48, N Klerk 2-11) beat Brisbane Heat 131 all out in 18.3 overs (L Kimmince 37, H Darlington 3-19) by 12 runs
Hannah Darlington | Player of the Match: It doesn’t feel real. We came out knowing that we could win and this was the best way to win it. I love situations like this and that’s why I play cricket. She (Johnson) was pumped and it was a pretty special performance. Young cricketers play fearless cricket and we have brought that to the ground.
Quote sourced from Cricbuzz
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.