Adelaide Strikers started their KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League campaign with an impressive 67-run win over Melbourne Renegades at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Adelaide Strikers started their KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League campaign with an impressive 67-run win over Melbourne Renegades at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Daniel Harris (49) and Michael Klinger (46) got the Strikers off to the perfect start and they never looked back, posting an imposing 5-189 from their 20 overs.
In response, the Renegades never looked likely and despite the efforts of Glenn Maxwell (46) they fell well short, bowled out for 122 in the 18th over.
Kane Richardson (3-27), Johan Botha (2-18) and Aaron O'Brien (2-34) were the chief destroyers for Adelaide who romped home to victory in front of 11,742 fans.
The Renegades began their run-chase needing a fast start but Aaron Finch (4) fell in just the second over when left-arm spinner O'Brien forced a top edge and the catch was comfortably taken by Aiden Blizzard.
Maxwell joined Meyrick Buchanan (11) at the crease but some youthful enthusiasm from the latter saw him attempt two runs when it never looked possible and despite being sent back he was still run-out after Botha produced a terrific throw from the outfield.
Shahid Afridi (nine) was the next to go when Richardson had him caught in the deep and the Renegades were not only losing wickets, but also well short of the run-rate.
Maxwell picked up boundaries at regular intervals but when he was undone by Botha in the 14th over the match was as good as finished.
From then on, the Renegades lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs as Nathan Reardon (two), Abdul Razzaq (one), Aaron Heal (one), Dirk Nannes (two) and Shaun Tait (zero) all failed.
Andrew McDonald (35) also fell in that period as the Strikers fired a warning shot to their rivals with a super impressive performance.
Earlier, Harris and Klinger got the Strikers off to a blistering start as they added 86 from just 59 balls.
Harris – who was the competition's highest run-scorer last season with 304 – set the tone when he smacked the expensive Tait (1-41) for six over mid-wicket off just the third ball of the innings.
In the next over, Nannes (1-38) pulled up with ankle soreness chasing a loose ball although he managed to fight on after a visit from the physio.
Despite several changes to the bowling Adelaide kept scoring runs at ease as they belted 55 from the six overs of fielding restrictions.
Harris and Klinger were finally split up when the former got an outside edge on a Heal (2-32) delivery and the spinner struck two overs later when Klinger holed out to Reardon.
Cameos from Blizzard (30 off 18) and Adam Crosthwaite (15 off 6) kept the scoring ticking over before Cameron Borgas (28 off 9) blasted 25 runs off Tait in the penultimate over of the innings to push Adelaide towards a total that ultimately proved too much.
