Adelaide Strikers rode on some exceptional bowling to clinch a 49-run win against Melbourne Renegades on Thursday in Adelaide. Chasing a target of 149 in 20 overs, the Renegades were bundled out for 100 in the 19th over.
They had a decent start to the chase after Sam Harper and Mackenzie Harvey had put in 39 for the first wicket before the latter was run out for 19 off 12.
Harvey’s dismissal certainly broke the shackles and Melbourne Renegades began to lose wickets at regular intervals only to be left tottering at 85/7 and eventually get bowled out.
The Melbourne side witnessed a middle-order collapse as the Strikers’ bowlers didn’t really let them get back on track. Wes Agar returned with figures of 3/17 in three overs while Rashid Khan and Daniel Worrall had a couple of wickets apiece to their names. George Garton and Peter Siddle also scalped one wicket each during the course.
Earlier, the Adelaide Strikers managed to score 149 in 10 overs before being all out after Kane Richardson bagged a four-wicket haul while Topley picked a three-for for the side. Wells top-scored for Strikers with a 30-ball 37.
The player of the match Agar lauded the side for the bowling efforts and admitted that the bowling unit had the confidence of defending the total.
“We are bowling well at the moment, and we were pretty good with our change ups, especially against Harper. It's a matter of putting the pressure on and we do have a good bowling line up that is capable of doing that. We knew we could defend the total, we had the confidence, it was just a matter of getting that energy level up. The main thing is to keep things simple, I think I bowl well when I don't complicate things,” he said after the match.
Strikers will now play Perth Scorchers on Saturday in Perth while the Renegades will lock horns with Brisbane Heat in Queensland on Monday.