Phoebe Litchfield and Chamari Athapaththu key to Thunder’s win in WBBL knockout
The Hobart Hurricanes sneaked into the final four courtesy of a three-wicket win in their final league game of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 10 to knock the Scorchers out of contention. Sydney Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield finished 3rd on the points table with 13 points from 10 games in the league stages. They were the designated hosts of the knockout game against the Hobart Hurricanes as they finished 3rd in the points table.
Skipper Elyse Villani led the Hurricanes to a respectable total
Hobart Hurricanes kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the visitors found themselves in trouble at 47/4 in the 10th over of the innings after skipper Elyse Villani won the toss and opted to bat first at the Drummoyne Oval, Sydney. The 54-run 5th wicket partnership between Suzie Bates and skipper Elyse Villani was the highest partnership of the innings for the Hobart Hurricanes. The visitors eventually ended up with a respectable total of 126/6 in their quota of 20 overs.
Skipper Elyse Villani (49 off 42 balls) contributed for around 39% percent of the team’s total. Wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee (23 off 26 balls), and Suzie Bates (17 off 17 balls) were the crucial contributors with the bat for the Hobart Hurricanes. Each of Sydney Thunder’s bowlers, Chamari Athapaththu (4-0-24-2), Taneale Peschel (4-0-24-2), Hannah Darlington (4-0-30-1), Shabnim Ismail (4-0-29-1) and Samantha Bates (4-0-14-0) was stand-out.
Phoebe Litchfield and Chamari Athapaththu guided the Thunder over the line
The Thunder lost the wicket of Georgia Voll in the 2nd ball of the run chase while trying to hunt down a total of 127. Molly Strano provided the first breakthrough for the Hurricanes. Chamari Athapaththu was joined by wicket-keeper batter Tahlia Wilson and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a 36-run 2nd wicket partnership. Heather Graham sent the wicket-keeper batter Tahlia Wilson back to the pavilion providing the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Sydney Thunder eventually got over the line with 6 wickets in hand and one over to spare. The 61-run 4th wicket partnership between Anika Learoyd (23* off 24 balls), and skipper Phoebe Litchfield (46 off 36 balls) played a crucial part in taking the Thunder to the Challenger against the Brisbane Heat. Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 38 balls), was the other batter who performed well with the bat for the Sydney Thunder to complete a team effort.
Molly Strano (4-0-8-1), Amy Smith (3-0-17-1), and Nicola Carey (4-0-29-1) were the key performers with the ball for the Hobart Hurricanes. The Sydney Thunder skipper Phoebe Litchfield was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant calm and composed innings (46 off 36 balls) with the bat and for picking up three catches in the field to go along with her performance with the bat.
Sydney Thunder will be up against Brisbane Heat led by skipper Jess Jonassen in the Challenger at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane on 29th November 2024 from 1:45 PM IST.
