Sydney Thunder 193 for 4 (Gilkes 76, Konstas 63, Wildermuth 2-25) beat Brisbane Heat 159 for 6 (Renshaw 43, Weibgen 30, Shadab 4-24) by 34 runs
After being sent in to bat, Thunder’s strong total of 193 for 4 was built around a 127-run partnership from openers Konstas and Gilkes. Konstas’ 45-ball 63 was marked by crisp drives through the off-side, while Gilkes went aerially and top-scored with 76 off 48.
All eyes were on Heat’s chase, but they looked slightly weary after the surreal events of Friday night. Opener Jack Wildermuth, who emerged as a Heat hero after blasting 110 not out, struggled to back up and swung rustily, as seamer Nathan McAndrew bowled a maiden in the second over.
Two deliveries after Colin Munro holed out tamely, Wildermuth’s stumps were rattled on 14, having missed a wrong’un from Shadab in a lovely piece of legspin.
Renshaw cruised to 43 before Shadab had the last laugh, when a wrong-un spun past an attempted reverse sweep and crashed the middle stump as Heat’s chase fizzled out.
It was an important victory for Thunder after consecutive defeats, with both teams now sporting a record of one win and two losses in this edition.
Shaheen troubled Konstas immediately with an lbw shout that was turned down. Shaheen’s initial two-over burst cost just 11 runs, but he lamented gifting a short and wide delivery to Konstas, who promptly dispatched a boundary through point.
Taking over the captaincy in place of injured Nathan McSweeney, Xavier Bartlett paid the price for missing his lengths, with a ruthless Konstas smacking him through the off-side.
Konstas and Gilkes batted cleverly, ensuring there were few dot balls, by finding the gaps and running hard between the wickets. Thunder made an impressive 37-0 in the powerplay as Bartlett deployed left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann. Kuhnemann should be in the selection mix for the Boxing Day Ashes Test, with Nathan Lyon to miss the Test after suffering a hamstring injury.
Kuhnemann bowled accurately, but Gilkes and Konstas smartly nudged him around to keep the scoreboard ticking over. The blossoming partnership started to frustrate Heat and they slumped further, when Gilkes – on 46 – was dropped by Wildermuth at long off on the last ball before the drinks break.
The batters decided to put the foot down, with Konstas unfurling the reverse sweep to good effect – having botched an earlier attempt – before holing out to Wildermuth in the 14th over.
Much like the previous two games, Shaheen struggled in the power surge, although he was initially unlucky when Gilkes inside edged past his stumps and to the boundary.
Sam Billings swung a flustered Shaheen over the square leg boundary during an 18-run over, as Thunder eyed a total of 200. But their momentum stalled when Billings and David Warner – who came in at No.4, not opening for the second straight game – fell in consecutive overs.
Shaheen’s mood lifted in the penultimate over, when he had Gilkes trapped lbw with a searing yorker overturned on review.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth