10:47pm And that is the group stage done. Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers finish top two, and will face off at the Sixers' ground for a direct shot at the grand final. Sydney Thunder, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers are the teams that follow them into the playoffs. It will be Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers to start things off in the knockout phases, the winner will play third-placed Sydney Thunder. And the winner of that will take on the loser from the top-two clash. That is how things are lined up.
Much closer, it is Ben Dwarshuis who is Player of the Match for his three wickets and being part of the bowling effort that restricted Melbourne Stars early in the game. Stars needed all four points to go through and their batting in the first 10 overs simply made that untenable. Sixers got to that in eight overs, and had good batting efforts from Vince and Henriques at the start, and then Silk and Christian at the end. A beautifully paced chase after they had sealed first spot in eight overs. Thank you for joining us tonight. We will see you soon.
Short third, point, extra cover, mid-off and mid-on are the fielders in the circle
Trent: "Dan "fine wine" Christian"
END OF OVER:19 | 11 Runs | SS: 168/5 (10 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 8.84, RRR: 10.00)
- Jordan Silk34 (24b)
- Dan Christian38 (19b)
- Sam Rainbird4-0-39-1
- Nathan Coulter-Nile4-0-35-1
This must be one of the lowest risk T20 chases in a long time. The required rate has been steep, but you woudnt't know it. They've brought it down to ten off the last over now. Can they seal it? Stanlake to try and stop them.
Raja : "The more I watch Dan Christian, the more I wonder what he could've done more to be part of Aus Team for a longer period. I think he would've been there if the "Finisher" Faulkner didn't arrive."
END OF OVER:18 | 14 Runs | SS: 157/5 (21 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 8.72, RRR: 10.50)
- Dan Christian30 (15b)
- Jordan Silk31 (22b)
- Nathan Coulter-Nile4-0-35-1
- Sam Rainbird3-0-28-1
This has been a pretty breezy partnership to keep them in the game. Helps that Stars are a bit flat in the field right now
END OF OVER:17 | 9 Runs | SS: 143/5 (35 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.41, RRR: 11.66)
- Jordan Silk28 (20b)
- Dan Christian19 (11b)
- Sam Rainbird3-0-28-1
- Zahir Khan3-0-20-0