The Hobart Hurricanes have held their nerve to beat the Sydney Thunder with one ball remaining in a re-match of last season's Big Bash League decider.
Match Report:
ScorecardHurricanes open title defence with tight win over Thunder
Defending champions Hobart have opened their new Big Bash League campaign with a tense final-over four-wicket win against last season's runner-up Sydney.
Nikhil Chaudhary (41 from 31), Ben McDermott (38 from 24), Mitchell Owen (32 from 14) all struck lusty blows at the top for the Hurricanes at Ninja Stadium on Tuesday night.
But they lost a run of wickets before eventually getting past the Thunder's 6-180 with one ball to spare.
The experienced Matthew Wade (25 from 16) departed in the second-last over, leaving the Hurricanes needing four runs off the final six balls.
Thunder quick Daniel Sams started the last over with a horror no-ball that reached wicketkeeper Sam Billings on the full.
With scores level, Sams bowled three dot balls in a row, including a bouncer that replays showed was well above Nathan Ellis' head.
However, Ellis held his nerve to hit the winning runs with a straight drive, icing the game alongside player of the match Chris Jordan who hit a crucial unbeaten 16 to go with his two terrific wickets which undid Sam Billings and Ollie Davies.
The Thunder were missing veteran David Warner who sat out with a back injury, but is expected to be on deck against the Sydney Sixers on Saturday.
Sydney could be sweating on the fitness of Sam Konstas, who didn't field after being struck on the arm by a Riley Meredith delivery while batting.
The 20-year-old, playing just his sixth BBL game, showed some glimpses of his power with a 25-ball 28.
In scenes reminiscent of last season's final, Owen came out all guns blazing in the chase before being caught centimetres from the rope by Sams off the spin of Tanveer Sangha.
Chaudhary, who opened alongside Owen, made the most of an early life after Sangha and Oliver Davies let a skied ball drop between them.
Earlier, after losing the bat flip and being sent in, Cameron Bancroft held Sydney's innings together with 61 from 44 balls.
Pakistani import Shadab Khan (34 from 24) and Sams (23 not out from 11) added some late fireworks after the Hurricanes tightened the screws in the middle overs.
The Thunder came flying out of the blocks and were 1-46 after the four-over powerplay, with Matthew Gilkes getting 20 off seven deliveries before falling in the deep to Billy Stanlake.
Stanlake finished with 3-34 which included the important scalps of Bancroft and Konstas.
Jordan (2-36) clean bowled Billings and Davies in the 10th over with deliveries that nipped back to give Hobart some momentum.
Bangladeshi spinner Rishad Hossain (0-18) was the most economical Hurricanes bowler in his debut for the franchise but only bowled three overs.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.235 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
REN
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 0 | 2 |
|
3
HUR
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.126 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
STR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
5
STA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
6
THU
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.126 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
HEA
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.7 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
SIX
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.235 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points