Fired-up Heat thump Thunder to storm into WBBL|10 Final

Brisbane Heat have stormed into a second consecutive Weber WBBL Final after thrashing Sydney Thunder by nine wickets, setting up a mouth-watering showdown with Melbourne Renegades at the MCG.

Set a below-par target of 134 for a spot in Sunday's decider, Georgia Redmayne anchored the chase with an unbeaten 41-ball 51, aided by Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 30) and Charli Knott (19 off 16), as the Heat got home with 4.4 overs to spare in front of a sold-out home crowd at Allan Border Field.  

It means the in-form Heat, who have now won six games on the bounce, will board a flight to Melbourne on Saturday, where they will meet the resurgent Renegades in a final beginning at 1.20pm AEDT on Sunday.

Put in to bat on a humid evening in Brisbane, a WBBL record eighth-wicket stand of 67 between Hannah Darlington (40no from 29) and Taneale Peschel (24no from 16) rescued the Thunder from a precarious position at 7-69, helping them post a target of 7-133.

Heat opener Grace Harris then kicked off the chase in style, check-driving Shabnim Ismail's first delivery for six down the ground.

But left-arm spinner Sam Bates had her measure, evading an advancing Harris with a wider delivery as Tahlia Wilson whipped off the stumps, sending her on her way for seven.

But India No.3 Jemimah Rodrigues joined Georgia Redmayne to take control of the chase, steering their side to 1-89 at the 10-over mark.

Rodrigues was put down on 25 when Ismail missed a straightforward chance off the bowling of Chamari Athapaththu, and she found the boundary five times and cleared it once on her way to 43 off 30.

In a move the Heat – and India – will hope was precautionary, Rodrigues retired hurt during the drinks break, having batted with strapping on her left wrist after landing awkwardly on the joint while diving in the field earlier in the evening.

When Rodrigues walked off, the Heat still needed 45 from the second 10 overs, and Redmayne found a solid partner in Knott, bringing up her first half-century of the season as she hit the winning runs, much to the delight of the boisterous local crowd.

Earlier, it was Darlington and Peschel's lower-order heroics that gave the Thunder something to bowl at.

Put in to bat first, Sydney's 25-run opening stand was snapped when Nicola Hancock struck, bowling her former Brisbane teammate Georgia Voll for 20.

Jonassen outsmarted Athapaththu with her left-arm spinner, knocking over the Sri Lanka star for an 18-ball 11, and leg-spinner Grace Parsons joined the fray to dismiss Tahlia Wilson (3).

The Thunder were 3-55 at the midway mark but in the blink of an eye that became 5-56 as Parsons secured the big wickets of Thunder captain Phoebe Litchfield (15) and English import Georgia Adams (0) in one over.

The wickets continued to tumble as Anika Learoyd and Sammy-Jo Johnson were caught trying to hit their way out of trouble, leaving their side 7-69.

But Darlington flipped the switch when she was joined by Peschel, deploying her drive to perfection as she hit four fours and two sixes as she raced to a career-best 40no from 29 balls.

Peschel cleared the rope twice herself, as 64 runs came from the final 37 balls.

Parsons was outstanding, finishing with figures of 3-10 from three overs.

WBBL|10 Finals

The Knockout: Sydney Thunder beat Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder by nine wickets

The Final: Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat | MCG | Sunday, December 1 at 1.20pm AEDT

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