‌After opting to bat first, Hobart Hurricanes got off to a flier at the University of Tasmania Stadium led by a lethal rampage from opener Caleb Jewell. The hosts raced to 45/1 in the opening four-over powerplay but unbeknownst to the crowd, the side had already peaked on the given day. The downward trend began with Tom Curran scalping Jewell after his 24-ball 42 on the penultimate ball of the sixth over before Ben Dwarshius introduced himself into the game with two wickets in the eighth over. Ben McDermott's dismissal in the following over made it three wickets in eight balls, leaving the Hurricanes reeling at 69/5. Middle-order dynamos Corey Anderson and Chris Jordan anchored a small recovery with uncharacteristically slow knocks, stitching together a stand of 32 runs off 40 balls for the fourth wicket before the latter departed for 17. The home side's decision to delay the power surge proved inefficient as Anderson failed to take advantage and it was only a 19-run cameo from Patrick Dooley that took the side to a respectable 135/8.