Match Recap: Scorchers defeat Thunder

Match in a tweet: Kaur's heroic effort not enough as the Scorchers end the Thunder's season

The score: Perth Scorchers 5-149 (Villani 74) in 20 overs defeated Sydney Thunder 6-145 (Kaur 64) in 20 overs by four runs 

The hero: Elyse Villani continues to produce the goods at the start, paving the way for a Scorchers win. Her imperious touch early gave the Scorchers the platform to score a formidable total of 5-149. She took toll on anything short early in her inning before hitting some crisp lofted drives later on. Villani hit seven boundaries and three sixes through pure timing on her way to 74 from 55 balls. It was her fourth fifty of the season and took her tally to 350 runs with a strike rate of 106.70.

The support cast: Piepa Cleary was outstanding with the ball for the Scorchers picking up three vital wickets to end with figures of 4-0-16-3. The medium pacer first had Rachael Haynes (15) caught at mid-off before picking up the vital wicket of Alex Blackwell (39) to put the Scorchers in control of the match. Cleary would then deceive Naomi Stalenberg (0) with a slower ball to take her wicket tally to eight for the season.

The consolation act: Harmanpreet Kaur hit the bat as sweetly as she has for the whole of the WBBL|02. The Indian allrounder put on a clinic with some classy stroke play to pummel half a dozen sixes to keep the Thunder in the hunt until the final ball. Kaur started her innings slowly, scoring just six of her first 13 balls before finishing unbeaten on 64 from 37 balls with a strike rate of 172.97. Kaur’s brutal assault on Heather Graham in which she smashed three sixes in four balls was one of the highlights of the season.

The over: With the asking rate pushing over 10 runs an over, Kaur went berserk smashing 23 off the 16th over from Graham. Kaur pummelled three sixes in the over to give the Thunder a realistic chance of chasing down 146.

The next stop: Both teams will face off again tomorrow in the final game of the season.