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Hagley Park In Stadium Live FeedRecord Konstas knock, 31-run Sams onslaught gets Thunder home in thriller
Andrew Slevison • December 18th, 2024 10:11 am
The Sydney Thunder pulled off an extraordinary two-wicket win over the Adelaide Strikers in the third match of BBL|14 on Tuesday night.
Under new captain David Warner, the Thunder’s chase appeared in vain when they required 33 runs from the last two overs in Canberra.
Enter Daniel Sams who spanked leg-spinner Lloyd Pope for 31 runs in the 19th over. The sequence went: 6, 6, wide, 4, 6, 4, 4. His exploits plus the superb knock from opener Sam Konstas enabled the Thunder to get home in a thriller.
Earlier, the Strikers had compiled a very defendable total of 8/182 thanks largely to Jamie Overton’s unbeaten 45 (from 35 balls with four sixes) and opener Jake Weatherald’s crisp 40 (from 19 balls) of which 36 runs came from fours (6) and sixes (2).
Down the order it was James Bazley who contributed strongly with 31 off 12 (24 of his runs coming from boundaries) while Alex Ross chipped in with 22 (from 18 balls).
Of the Thunder bowlers, Lockie Ferguson (3/24) and Chris Green (3/27) did the most damage while Tanveer Sangha (2/27) also bowled well.
But the majority of the action was in the second innings, starting with BBL debutant Konstas.
The 19-year-old struck a powerful 56 from 27 balls made up of eight fours and two sixes which included audacious ramps and sumptuous stroke play.
Konstas took just 20 deliveries to reach his half-century, surpassing Alex Hales’ previous 21-ball effort, to set a new Thunder record. He also became the youngest player in BBL history to reach 50.
The Strikers managed to stem the flow after the Konstas blitz and looked in good order even after a careful 29 from Sam Billings (26 balls) and a contribution of 23 (19 balls) from Oliver Davies.
But Sams was intent on pulling off a heist and his onslaught in the second last over has to be seen to be believed. Poor Pope copped the full brunt of the power of Sams who produced the winning run off Overton in the final over.
The Thunder will look to build on their remarkable win when they meet the Sixers in the Sydney Derby at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday while the Strikers will lick their wounds and strive to bounce back against the Melbourne Stars at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
