Sixers through to BBL Final after outclassing Perth

The scores: Perth Scorchers 6-167 (Josh Inglis 69*, Ben Dwarshius 2-40) lost to Sydney Sixers (James Vince 98*, Josh Philippe 45) by nine wickets with 18 balls to spare

The match in a tweet: Vince brilliance puts Sixers on brink going to back-to-back as reigning BBL champs crush Scorchers to secure home final at the SCG

The next stop: The SCG will host its second straight final, with the Sixers winning the right to host the decider. It will be Sydney's first KFC BBL game of the season.

The Scorchers, meanwhile, head home to Perth after two straight defeats and they will play the winner of the Sydney Thunder-Brisbane Heat match on Thursday night for the right to face the Sixers in the decider.

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The drama: With James Vince on 98, one run to win and three overs to bowl, a century appeared inevitable.

Dan Hughes had got the biggest cheer of the night from the enthusiastic Canberra crowd when he blocked back three balls the previous over to give Vince his free swing at a ton.

But AJ Tye dug in a very short bouncer which was called a wide, to leave Vince stranded two short of the ton, and earned the Scorchers quick a death state from Vince despite what appeared to be an apology.

The Manuka Oval crowd, eager to see Vince's terrific innings rewarded with the milestone, roared with boos in a strange end to the Sixers' triumph.

The hero: It did not take the gloss of a stunning Vince knock, with his unbeaten 98 coming off just 53 balls. The silky right-hander has mostly been in the shadows during BBL|10 as Josh Philippe and Dan Christian and co. have enjoyed the limelight, but he was the main man for the Sixers in their biggest game.

With the reigning champions chasing a sub-par 168, Vince made the Scorchers pay for Jhye Richardson missing a hot chance off him on 4 at short fine leg before Tye dropped another running back from mid-on when he was on 23.

The right-hander was murderous on anything short as he combined with Philippe for a rapid 92-run stand from less than nine overs, and then pushed on after losing his opening partner as he and Dan Hughes put on a match-sealing 76-run stand.

The support cast: Josh Philippe's brilliant season continued with a rapid knock that put the Sixers on the path to victory.

The 23-year-old toyed with the Scorchers during the Powerplay. After a trademark lofted on drive for four off Jhye Richardson, he then drop-kicked a shorter ball for six to the short square boundary. He performed a similar routine on Tye as the Sixers flayed 71 from the first seven overs.

But arguably his most impressive move was against the spin of Fawad Ahmed, inside-out cover driving the veteran leggie for six.

The blow up: Mitch Marsh might be a little lighter in the pocket after an angry outburst following his dismissal. The allrounder appeared to have missed a ball down the leg-side by some distance but an appeal from keeper Josh Philippe and bowler Stephen O'Keefe was enough to convince umpire Sam Nogajski to raise his finger.

Marsh, who had been marking his guard so sure was he that the appeal was frivolous, threw his hands out wide and screamed in disbelief before beginning a slow walk off. He then appeared to yell something further back in the umpire's direction.

The timing of Marsh's exit was notable given it intensified the Scorchers' fatal middle-overs run drought, managing only 24 runs from the five overs after the mid-innings break.

The consolation act: The steady transformation of Josh Inglis into a fully-fledged Big Bash star was confirmed in his first finals match.

Inglis gradually shifted up the gears to put together a clever unbeaten 69 from 41 balls, allowing the Scorchers to recover from a middling start and post at least a competitive total.

The English-born keeper helped the Scorchers crack 69 runs from their final five overs.

Inglis has adjusted seamlessly to life at No.4 this summer after a breakout campaign opening the batting last year, and on Saturday timed his run to perfection with help from Colin Munro (who he shared a 41-run stand with) and Ashton Turner (59-run partnership).

Along with Turner, Inglis helped smash 34 from the two Power Surge overs, a burst which included a mind-blowing back-of-the-bat flick past the keeper for four off Ben Dwarshuis.

The stat: He didn't quite tick over the 500-mark but Philippe's 45 put him on 499 for the whole tournament, the most ever by a Sixers player in the BBL. The previous record holder? Philippe himself, who scored 487 runs last summer.

The flamingo: There was more than a bit of Kevin Pietersen about this from Liam Livingstone, who skipped down and popped Ben Dwarshuis for a casual-as-you-like six over mid-on, flicking his back leg up for some extra flair.

Sydney Sixers: Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Stephen O'Keefe, Jackson Bird

Perth Scorchers: Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitch Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

BBL|10 Finals Series
(all matches will screen on Channel 7, Fox Cricket & Kayo)

The Eliminator: Brisbane Heat (4) beat Adelaide Strikers (5) by six wickets

The Qualifier: Sydney Sixers (1) beat Perth Scorchers (2) by nine wickets

The Knock-Out: Sydney Thunder (3) v Brisbane Heat (4). Sunday, Jan 31, Manuka Oval, 7.15pm AEDT

The Challenger: Perth Scorchers (2) v Winner of The Knock-Out. Thurs Feb 4, Optus Stadium, 7.45pm AEDT

The Final: Sydney Sixers v Winner of The Challenger. Sat Feb 6, SCG, 7.40pm AEDT