Holder the hero as Sixers storm home in another thriller

The match in a tweet: Sixers go top! Another thriller at Metricon as Jason Holder hammers 16 from final over to sink the Gades #BBL10

The score: Melbourne Renegades 6-168 (Marsh 67, Finch 39; Christian 2-19) lost to Sydney Sixers 8-169 (Philippe 48, Holder 33no; Nabi 2-11) by two wickets with one ball to spare

The hero: In his final match for the Sixers, Jason Holder was ice-cool in seeing his team to another thrilling win. Just three nights after they claimed a remarkable win from the second-last ball of the match, it was more of the same for the men in magenta thanks to the West Indies Test skipper. In a see-sawing climax, Holder stayed composed at the close, going 2, 4, 4, 6 to complete the 16 required from the final over.

The consolation effort: Mohammad Nabi hammered a vital 18 from 11 balls late in the piece but more importantly, claimed the huge wickets of the Sixers' middle-order pair Dan Hughes and James Vince at a critical point in the run chase. His two overs through the middle also cost just 11 runs and put the Renegades on top at that point in the contest.

The big call: Young Renegades allrounder Will Sutherland had copped a spray from his captain Aaron Finch for being out of position on the boundary which cost his side a boundary, then came on for the 18th over and bowled two deliveries that didn't hit the pitch. Instead of opting for the experience of Nabi – who to that point had 2-11 – to close out the match, Finch rolled the dice with his young charge and it didn't pay off.

The partnership: Renegades fans have been waiting a while for their superstar openers Aaron Finch (39 off 32) and Shaun Marsh (67 off 48) to click simultaneously, and while they didn't exactly explode at Metricon, the duo put together their best partnership in their season-and-a-bit union in red. The 75-run partnership was only the second time they've exceeded 50 as a partnership in that time but after a couple of disastrous performances, it was exactly the solid platform the Renegades needed. Finch was out just as he looked to be really finding his groove while Marsh too seemed to hit his stride as his innings wore on, the classy left-hander unleashing a couple of trademark cuts and drives as well as some more T20-style heaves over cow corner. All of it was productive for the scorecard as the left-hander produced his highest score for the Renegades.

The stat: Upon reaching 37, Shaun Marsh became the third player to reach the 2,000 run milestone in the KFC BBL after Finch and Brisbane Heat skipper Chris Lynn.

The catch: Rilee Rossouw – incredible! Words don't do this justice… just sit back and enjoy.

The drop: Josh Philippe was yet to score when he skied one that skewed out square on the off-side. Imad Wasim was stationed at point and he turned, ran … and dropped a tough chance he should have caught. "You can't drop good players," said Finch on the player mic. And he was right – Philippe went on to hurt the Renegades to the tune of 48 from 30.

The next stop: The Renegades return to Metricon on January 1 for a showdown with the Thunder, and the Sixers next face the Heat at the Gabba on January 2.

Melbourne Renegades XI: Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Sam Harper (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Mackenzie Harvey, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim, Will Sutherland, Kane Richardson, Zak Evans, Peter Hatzoglou

Sydney Sixers XI: Josh Philippe (wk), Jack Edwards, James Vince, Daniel Hughes (c), Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Ben Dwarshuis, Stephen O'Keefe, Ben Manenti