Rashid works his magic as Strikers move to top spot

The match in a tweet: Khan do! Adelaide's amazing Afghan leads his side to big victory over winless Renegades #BBL09

The score: Adelaide Strikers 6-155 (Salt 54, Carey 41; Richardson 4-33, Boyce 2-18) beat Melbourne Renegades (Finch 50; Rashid 2-15) by 18 runs

The hero: Who else but Rashid Khan? The awesome Afghan smashed two sixes in a quick-fire 25 (16) that pushed Adelaide past 150, then bamboozled Shaun Marsh to knock over the veteran left-hander at a critical juncture in the run chase. Two overs later, his direct hit run-out of Aaron Finch changed the complexion of the contest (more on that below), and then he clean bowled Will Sutherland with a wrong'un. Show off. 

The support cast: The Strikers' English opener Phil Salt finally showed his capabilities, hammering 54 from just 26 balls to get his team off to a strong start. He was well supported by the in-form Alex Carey, whose 41 was enough to see him again don the BKT Golden Cap for most runs in BBL|09 to date.

The moment: Finch had cruised to a second-straight fifty but when he pushed what looked a single to backward point he was caught cruising a little too much; Rashid picked up cleanly and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end to catch the Australia captain well short of his ground. In the moment, it felt decisive, and that was compounded next ball when Marcus Harris holed out to deep square leg. Two balls later, Dan Christian was run-out without facing a ball and it was all-but game over.

The consolation acts: Kane Richardson took four wickets. Again. Finch made 50. Again. Cameron Boyce looked at home at Marvel in taking 2-18 from four overs. Outside of that, there wasn't a great deal for the 'Gades to crow about during another disappointing outing.

The big over: Salt's assault of five straight fours Richard Gleeson was interrupted only by a wide; the right-hander launched into his countryman with a series of impressive pulls and drives in just the second over of the night.

The stat: Boyce's two wickets took him to 68 BBL wickets, one ahead of James Faulkner, and into the top five wicket-takers all time in the tournament.

The banter: Flies, itchy nose, um what?! Umpire Greg Davidson was perfectly within his rights to change his decision mid finger-raise here but gee, he left it late! You have to see this one to believe it…

The book-ends: Adelaide are now sitting pretty atop the ladder on seven points, while the Renegades are bottom with zero wins from four matches.

The next stops: It's a short turnaround for the Strikers, who host the Thunder on New Year's Eve, while the Renegades are back at Marvel Stadium on January 2 for a showdown with the Sixers.