Thunder end Sydney Smash pain to reach BBL Final

The Thunder have broken their Sydney Smash hoodoo to upstage their 'big brother' rivals the Sixers with a tense four-wicket win to progress to their first BBL Final in nine years.

The Thunder had a depleted Sixers side on the back foot from the outset in Friday night's Challenger in front of 32,107 fans at the SCG, restricting their rivals to 7-151 before chasing it down with seven balls to spare.

It's the first time the Thunder have beaten the Sixers since January 2021, and they waited until the biggest stage to snap a six-game losing streak against their Sydney rivals.

A final limited release of tickets for the BBL|14 Final will go on sale here at 10am on Saturday

Recalled batter Jason Sangha got the visitors off to a fast start with a 19-ball 30 opening alongside captain David Warner (11) after their spinners did the damage once again to restrict the Sixers.

Tom Andrews was superb with two wickets in an over, claiming the prized scalp of Sixers skipper Moises Henriques (29) followed by Lachlan Shaw for a duck two balls later.

Henriques could perhaps count himself a little unlucky after smashing a full delivery like a bullet through cover only for George Garton to pluck a one-handed screamer diving to his left.

Josh Philippe – shifted to No.3 having endured a tough season opening the batting – also suffered some misfortune from another of Henriques' well-hit shots, caught out of his ground at the non-striker's end as the ball ricocheted off the bowler Tanveer Sangha's right hand and onto the stumps.

Leg-spinner Sangha (0-26 from four overs) was also outstanding with the ball, as was Chris Green (0-25 from four), and although the pair went wicketless, their miserly eight overs combined went a long way to restricting the Sixers to a chaseable score.

Missing stars Steve Smith and James Vince for their finals campaign, the Sixers' revamped opening pair of Kurtis Patterson (11) and Jack Edwards (7) couldn't get going as Wes Agar (2-26) and Nathan McAndrew (1-42) did the early damage.

Adding further insult was a quad injury to Patterson that prevented him from fielding in the second innings.

Where the Sixers were 2-23 after the four-over Powerplay, the Thunder were 1-35 and on track to win the first ever finals meeting between the Sydney rivals in the BBL.

Jordan Silk (43no off 30) and Ben Dwarshuis (30 off 20) gave the Sixers' innings a much-needed boost at the death with 49 runs coming from the last four overs.

The Sixers gave Matt Gilkes a life when dropped by Shaw at long on, but made up for their previous misfortune when the third umpire adjudged him run out for 26.

Having turned for a risky two after guiding a ball to third, Edwards' hand brushed the stumps prior to the throw from Hayden Kerr arriving. But the stumps didn't light up despite the contact, with third umpire Phil Gillespie satisfied the "ball impacted the stumps and removed the bails", and with Gilkes' desperate dive well short, he was sent on his way.

Despite some kamikaze running at times, Sam Billings (42no off 29) and Chris Green (15) inched the Thunder closer to their target.

Edwards (1-19) and Hayden Kerr (2-35) combined for two quick wickets to set up a tense finale with the Thunder 6-131 still needing 21 off 15 balls to keep their title dream alive.

But overseas recruit Billings justified the Thunder's faith in signing him to a three-year deal, crashing a huge six off the final ball of the 18th over as McAndrew (19 off 7) hit two fours and a six in the next five deliveries to seal possibly their most memorable win since claiming their first BBL title exactly nine years ago.

It's been a dream resurgence for the Thunder in BBL|14, progressing to the final game of the season after managing just one win during the campaign 12 months prior.

The Thunder's next task perhaps could be an even more imposing one as they travel to Hobart to take on the red-hot Hurricanes who have won eight of their past nine matches to earn hosting rights of Monday's decider.

KFC BBL|14 finals schedule

Qualifier: Hobart Hurricanes beat Sydney Sixers by 12 runs

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

Challenger: Sydney Thunder beat Sydney Sixers by 4 wickets

Final: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder, Ninja Stadium (Monday, January 27, 7.15pm AEDT)