Perth
\nMitchell Marsh\u2019s 44 guided the Perth Scorchers to victory over the Sydney Sixers by six wickets in a low-scoring Big Bash League (BBL) 15 final at the Optus Stadium in Perth, securing their sixth title.
\nThe Scorchers chased down the 133-run target in 17.3 overs for the loss of four wickets.
\nEarning hosting rights after crushing the Sixers in a qualifier last week, the Scorchers bowled first and bowled their six-time Grand Final rivals out for a paltry 132 in 20 overs as pacemen David Payne and Jhye Richardson combined for six wickets.
\nWith 15 balls remaining in their reply, the hosts reached 133-4 anchored by a 43-ball 44 from Marsh.
\n\u201cIt feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders, we have high expectations, and to be able to deliver on those expectations is really satisfying,\u201d said Scorchers captain Ashton Turner.
\nThe table-topping Scorchers started their chase in audacious fashion when Marsh, Australia\u2019s T20 captain, pulled the first ball for six.
\nHis opening partner Finn Allen, the season\u2019s top run-scorer with 466, got the better of quick Mitchell Starc in a 19-run fourth over, bringing the crowd to their feet with a scooped six into the second tier.
\nWith rain threatening, the Scorchers powered ahead at nearly 10 an over until a spectacular one-handed catch by Jack Edwards off Starc dismissed Allen for 36.
\nSeamer Sean Abbott accounted for Aaron Hardie (five) and Marsh, but Josh Inglis (29 not out) saw the Scorchers over the line with a majestic six over long-off.
\nEarlier, the Perth crowd of 55,018 roared in delight when Sixers\u2019 drawcard Steve Smith, who averaged 60 in the tournament at a strike rate of 168 yet finds himself out of T20 World Cup reckoning, dejectedly departed for 24 when all-rounder Hardie reviewed for lbw.
\nFortunate to survive three missed run outs in the space of five balls, skipper Moises Henriques was caught for 24 off the medium pace of Payne, who ended with 3-18.
\nFast bowler Mahli Beardman, on the cusp of international selection, closed out the innings with two wickets and a run out in the final over.
\nThe Australia squad will fly to Pakistan for three 20-over matches in preparation for their first T20 World Cup fixture against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perth Mitchell Marsh\u2019s 44 guided the Perth Scorchers to victory over the Sydney Sixers by six wickets in a low-scoring Big Bash League (BBL) 15 final at the Optus Stadium in Perth, securing their sixth title. The Scorchers chased down the 133-run target in 17.3 overs for the loss of four wickets. Earning hosting rights …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":92744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92730"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92751,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92730\/revisions\/92751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}