Chris Green and Nic Maddinson produced a late-order blitz to guide Sydney Thunder to a dramatic four-wicket DLS victory over Melbourne Renegades, overturning a tense chase after rain reduced the target at Engie Stadium. Despite the win, Thunder remain bottom of the BBL table, while the Renegades’ finals hopes suffered a major blow as they slumped to seventh with a 3-5 record.
The match was overshadowed by a bold and controversial decision from the Renegades, who retired Mohammad Rizwan out late in their innings, only the third such instance in BBL history not linked to injury. Playing his 300th T20, Rizwan struggled for momentum on a seaming surface, managing 26 off 23 balls, and was withdrawn at the end of the 18th over. The gamble backfired, with the Renegades adding just 16 runs thereafter to finish on 170 for 8, Hassan Khan top-scoring with 46.
Thunder’s reply was recalibrated to 140 from 16 overs following a rain interruption, but the chase appeared to be slipping away when they collapsed to 95 for 6. Maddinson (30* off 17) and Green (34* off 13) then wrestled momentum back with a flurry of clean hitting, punishing erratic death bowling and sealing the win with four balls to spare. Earlier, Sam Billings had steadied the innings with 33 before the middle-order wobble.
For the Renegades, Gurinder Sandhu was outstanding with the ball, claiming 4 for 42, while Adam Zampa made an immediate impact on return from injury. However, their inability to capitalise on Thunder’s collapse, and the failed Rizwan tactic, proved costly.
With just a handful of games remaining, the Renegades now face an uphill battle to stay in finals contention, while Thunder, though still last, finally found a spark of belief through a gutsy finish led by Green and Maddinson.
