DRX vs FOR T10 Championship Week - Match 8, ECL, 2024 - Commentary

Right then, that is it from this game and it is Perth Scorchers who qualify directly for the final. Sydney Sixers though will play the winner of the Knockout game next. That Knockout game will be played between Melbourne Renegades and Brisbane Heat at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday, the 29th of January. The game will begin at 1.45 pm IST (8.15 am GMT) but our build-up will begin a lot earlier. Do join us then. Cheers!

Perth Scorchers skipper, Ashton Turner (84* off 47 balls) is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH.  He says that they did well and played very good cricket. Adds that they hope to carry on with the same form and win the finals. Says that the wicket can be a bit tricky sometimes, but they needed to adjust to it and both he and Cameron Bancroft did well. Mentions that they have to be positive and score much more quickly, and they have chased good totals this year. Ends by saying that they feel more confident when they are playing in front of their home crowd.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Moises Henriques won the toss and opted to bat first but the pitch wasn't the regular Perth pitch and was a bit two-paced. Sydney Sixers' top order faltered and then it was an 88-run stand between Moises Henriques and Jordan Silk that brought them back into the game. However, once Henriques got out, they lost wickets in a heap and all the momentum was taken away from them. David Payne was the pick of the bowlers for Perth Scorchers as he picked up 3 wickets but Jason Behrendorff really set the tone at the top with 2 wickets and hardly went for any runs. Coming to the chase, the Scorchers had a poor start with the bat just like the Sixers and it was Sean Abbott who did the damage with the ball. On a big night, their skipper Ashton Turner stepped up big time and along with Cameron Bancroft sealed the win for them.

It was a game of dropped catches and that too of the captains of both sides and just like Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner made the opposition pay and his dropped chance proved to be decisive. Sean Abbott was in red-hot form as he picked up 3 wickets early in the innings and put Sydney Sixers on top of things. However, the other bowlers didn't support him well and when Steve O'Keefe created the perfect opportunity to break the stand, it was spilled. They didn't have the best end with the bat and were always a few runs short. In the end, the Sixers were beaten easily and will now have to play and win the Challenger game to set up a re-match against the Scorchers in the final.

Perth Scorchers may have been missing a couple of crucial players and were playing against a Sydney Sixers team that was in scintillating form but they have just shown why they are the team that has won the BBL title the most number of times. The Scorchers seemed down and out at 22/3 but the experienced pair of Ashton Turner and Cameron Bancroft completely turned the game on its head. The pair added on an unbeaten stand of 132 runs with the skipper Turner playing his best-ever knock in the BBL finishing 84* off just 47 balls. Bancroft hit the winning runs and brought up yet another fifty as the Scorchers got over the line with 9 balls to spare.

What a cracking game of cricket we have just witnessed and a 41,000 plus crowd inside the Perth Stadium erupts as Perth Scorchers make it through to yet another BBL final at home.

Izharulhaq Naveed (3-0-23-0) is back on to finish his spell.