‌BBL 2023 | Heat extend win-streak after Hurricanes fail to nail humdinger in rain-curtailed affair

01/07/2024

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Brisbane Heat snatched their sixth consecutive win in BBL 13 after Nikhil Chaudhary’s valiant knock under pressure went in vain for the Hobart Hurricanes in Gabba. On a tricky wicket, Colin Munro’s 56 helped the Heat pose a fighting total in a rain-curtailed contest that went down to the wire.

In the quest to break the Brisbane Heat’s winning streak, skipper Nathan Ellis won the toss and elected to field first. The openers, Colin Munro and Josh Brown, set off to a watchful start with limited boundaries, gathering just 23 runs inside the mandatory powerplay. In an attempt to up the ante, Brown got outfoxed by Nikhil Chaudhary in the final ball of the sixth over. The Heat lost another wicket before the Drinks Break as Nathan McSweeney was struck plumb in front by a full Ellis delivery. Subsequently, the visitors bowled brilliantly and were able to exert pressure on the opposition, denying them a boundary for a period of 52 deliveries. The middle order that included Matt Renshaw and Sam Billings failed to get going against the pace and bounce, but Colin Munro’s 47-ball 56 and Paul Walter’s 21-ball 22 helped them reach 132/7 at the end of the innings. All the three Hurricanes’ pacers were economical with Jordan being the pick of all with a three-fer followed by Ellis’ double scalps.

In reply, the Hurrianes lost quick wickets as Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett spit venom with the new ball, reducing the opposition to 22/4 after 3.3 overs. Ben McDermott tried to graft from one end but soon the rain followed and after a brief pause, the play got reduced to a 16-per-side contest with 118 as the revised target for the visitors. The wicketkeeper-batter’s stay was short-lived as Paul Walter got the better of him in the ninth over, leaving the 'canes struggling at 56/5. Tim David (27) and Nikhil Chaudhary entered the fray, dragging the chase to the slog overs with a 46-run sixth wicket stand before the former got dismissed by Spencer Johnson in the third ball of the penultimate over. Chaudhary’s valiant 55 off 38 balls maneuvered the chase to the ultimate over with 13 needed from six deliveries. After piling eight runs from the first couple of balls, Chaudhary was dismissed and the tailenders failed to gather 5 off the final three deliveries, eventually losing by a run.

Hear won at the end!

Whoever lost that game would have bottled that 😂

The Heat should never have lost that, but with a lower DLS total and needing five off four balls the Hurricanes probably should have got it done. #BBL13
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) January 7, 2024

Too good

“Dad, tell me about Paul Walter’s final over for the Brisbane Heat against the Hobart Hurricanes on the 7th January 2024”#BBL13 pic.twitter.com/EJqLq5UMDK
— Lachyjack (@Lachyjack1) January 7, 2024

Special effort

Hurricanes need to win this game to get into top 4 . Needing 16 off 11 with 5 wickets in hand & losing the game . Special effort that. Horrorcanes for a reason .

I have never seen them win a must win game & must be in their genes #BBL13
— Cricket Tamizhan (@CricketTamizhan) January 7, 2024

Superb fight back

What a fight by Brisbane Heat… Hobart Hurricanes needed 20 off 12 balls with two set batters batting .. Tim David and Chaudhrey… they won by 1 runs … top of the table team fought like a top of the drawer team … must watch for Pakistan Twenty20 captain and coaches #bigbash
— Shahid Hashmi (@hashmi_shahid) January 7, 2024

Unstoppable

If the Hurricanes could recruit imports like they find players out of Queensland grade cricket they'd be unstoppable.

Chaudhary = ⭐️ #BBL #BBL13
— Hamish Spence (@HamishSpence17) January 7, 2024

He is just too good!

Nikhil Chaudhary in this BBL season:

🔷️ 40(31) vs. Perth Scorchers

Entry: 28/4

Exit: 103/6

🔷️ 32(16) vs. Melbourne Stars

Entry: 96/5

Exit: 132/7

🔷️ 55(38) vs. Brisbane Heat

Entry: 22/4

Exit: 113/8

Some great batting performances this season in really difficult… pic.twitter.com/9z42uopMBE
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) January 7, 2024

Brilliant

Brilliant guys! Brisbane Heat can’t be beat 🙌🙌

#BBL13 pic.twitter.com/EaieoEcS5v
— Francesca 🪶 (@francescahulm) January 7, 2024

1st of many!

Nikhil Chaudhary smashed his maiden BBL Fifty with this biggest six of the match! 🔥

He scored a brilliant 55 runs in just 38 balls against Brisbane Heat.

Video credit: BBLpic.twitter.com/SxZcYG6wpN
— Shumaila Tanveer (@shumaila56_) January 7, 2024

Proper thriller