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Brisbane Heat 166 for 8 (Brown 53, Renshaw 40*, Abbott 4-32) beat Sydney Sixers 112 (Henriques 25, Johnson 4-26, Bartlett 2-12, Swepson 2-19) by 54 runs
Defying a 43,153 crowd on the SCG, the place Sixers had received 12 of their final 14 matches, Heat ended their 11-year title drought in dominant vogue.
Heat made an imposing 166 for 8 with Brown backing up from his report century towards Adelaide Strikers within the Challenger by blasting 53 off 38 balls on a tough floor. He threatened one other outrageous knock earlier than falling in veteran spinner Steve O’Keefe’s final over of his skilled profession.
It was a bitter disappointment for powerhouse Sixers, who had been hoping to present O’Keefe with a fairy-tale end. However their scorching late-season type got here to a screeching halt as they fell effectively in need of profitable a fourth title.
After 4 straight victories, Sixers had entered as favourites and so they surprisingly elected to bowl given their experience at defending on the sluggish and low SCG floor. However batting proved troublesome in overcast and humid circumstances with Heat restricted to simply 16 runs within the powerplay.
It was solely a matter of time earlier than Brown went for broke and simply earlier than the powerplay ended he was lucky when Ben Dwarshuis missed a tricky probability diving ahead at deep sq.. Brown made them pay by smashing the primary ball after the powerplay for six and he mixed effectively with shut mate and skipper Nathan McSweeney, who pounced on uncharacteristically wayward Sixers bowling
Brown took a liking to Hayden Kerr’s modest tempo and clubbed him for consecutive sixes earlier than citing his half-century with a beautiful cowl drive. Heat moved into a robust place at 90 for 1 earlier than the dependable Dwarshuis had McSweeney hitting to deep nice leg then O’Keefe trapped Brown lbw in a call overturned on assessment.
O’Keefe acquired a standing ovation from the Sixers’ crowd after ending his usually miserly spell as Heat slowed down significantly after Brown’s dismissal.
However they reignited with Max Bryant and Matt Renshaw clubbing 31 runs within the energy surge throughout the seventeenth and 18th overs as Heat completed strongly. Heat’s momentum continued with the ball when spearhead Michael Neser had opener Daniel Hughes caught at slip within the first over.
Johnson was costly earlier than bowling Jack Edwards off the within edge on the final ball of the powerplay. Sixers slowed to a crawl as Johnson returned within the ninth over to dismiss opener Josh Phillipe as the house workforce slumped to 56 for 3.
Heat remained cautious with reminiscences of final yr’s remaining nonetheless recent with Scorchers 54 for 3 earlier than storming dwelling. However Heat weren’t to be denied with recalled legspinner Mitchell Swepson producing a fizzing legbreak that befuddled Jordan Silk and he was beautifully stumped by Peirson.
Sixers’ faint hopes rested with skipper Moises Henriques, who examined constructive for Covid-19 earlier within the week however performed amid protocols. He had produced exceptional clutch batting simply eight days in the past towards Scorchers in Perth, however his dismissal on the third ball of the facility surge successfully ended the competition.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Heat celebrated with gusto to banish the ghosts of Optus Stadium.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist primarily based in Perth
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