Thunder end Stars fairytale to set up Sydney finals blockbuster

Sydney Thunder have seen off a lightning delay to take full toll of their home ground advantage to see off the Melbourne Stars and book in a blockbuster finals date with crosstown rivals the Sixers on Friday night.

Having mastered ENGIE Stadium's slow and difficult batting surface this season, the Thunder's bowlers put up an expert defence of their 7-135 to end the Stars' fairytale resurgence by 21 runs.

Spinners Tom Andrews (2-20) and Tanveer Sangha (2-31) were exceptional with the ball, the latter claiming the key wicket of Glenn Maxwell who had been player of the match in the Stars' last three games.

Nathan McAndrew also took a career-best 5-16 – also the best men's figures in the Thunder's history – as the home side shook off a disastrous start that saw captain David Warner dismissed for a second-ball duck in the first over and then a 15-minute break due to thunderstorms 3.3 overs into their batting innings.

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No rain fell on the ground on Wednesday night but with lightning reported within a 10km radius of the stadium, umpires had no choice but to delay the game at 7.51pm.

The pitch was under covers right up until the bat flip with thunderstorms in the area as Marcus Stoinis opted to send the Thunder in.

With the game reduced to 19 overs per side when play resumed 15 minutes later, Matthew Gilkes (28) set about capitalising on the hard new ball, chancing his arm with three fours and a six in his 18-ball knock.

But scoring became increasingly tough when the field went back after four overs and the pace came off with spin introduced and cutters becoming the delivery of choice for the Stars seamers.

The only batter to look comfortable was Maxwell with a quickfire 28 from 21 balls in the second innings but he too was undone by the ragging turn extracted by the Thunder's three-pronged spin attack.

Maxwell's dismissal in the 12th over of the chase all but spelled the end of his side's resistance as they fell short of a sixth straight win when bowled out for 114.

The Thunder's Ollie Davies made the most of his recall to keep their innings moving with a fighting 35-ball 36 with boundaries hard to come by.

Sam Billings hit four in his contribution of 24 and Andrews (13no) smashed the final ball of the innings high over midwicket for six to give the Thunder the momentum at the break.

McAndrew quickly had the more than 13,000 home fans out of their seats once again in the first over of the chase as he bowled Sam Harper attempting a ramp.

The Stars batters found it tough going in the Powerplay, finishing their first four overs on 2-26 before the Thunder spinners got to work.

Peter Handscomb's BBL comeback didn't last long as he survived a close catch call the third umpire deemed McAndrew didn't quite get his fingers under before being trapped lbw by Andrews a few balls later.

But Maxwell made a point of targeting the Thunder spinners, delicately hitting Andrews for consecutive reverse laps to the rope before crashing Sangha for a massive six over long on.

While he was off to a fast start, Stoinis couldn't get going at the other end for his 15 from 24 as the game shifted again when he picked out George Garton at midwicket who took an excellent catch diving forward at high speed.

The recalled Sangha fought back to break the game open with the huge scalp of Maxwell (28 off 21) and then followed it up with the wicket of Tom Curran next ball as he tamely chipped a catch to cover.

Maxwell, who had middled everything up to that point, tried to work a single into the leg side, but with the ball turning significantly, Sangha's leg-break caught the leading edge and ballooned straight back to him.

It was the second high catch Sangha had been camped under for the evening after helping remove Stars opener Tom Rogers whose mishit hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity.

The Power Surge brought the end for the Stars' last recognised batter, Hilton Cartwright (15), as their dream comeback in BBL|14 fizzled out in the first final.

Friday's Challenger at the SCG will be the first time the two Sydney sides have ever met in a men's Big Bash final, with the win to progress to the BBL|14 Final to face the Hurricanes in Hobart next Monday.

KFC BBL|14 finals schedule

Qualifier: Hobart Hurricanes beat Sydney Sixers by 12 runs

Knockout: Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Stars by 21 runs (DLS Method)

Challenger: Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder, SCG (Friday, January 24, 7.15pm AEDT)

Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Monday, January 27, 7.15pm AEDT)