Chris Lynn’s magnificent 81-run innings proved more than enough for Brisbane Heat as they defeated Hobart Hurricanes by 18 runs at Gabba. This was the final nail in Hurricanes’s coffin for the semi-final race.
Chasing a massive target of 199, Hobart Hurricanes got off to a worst possible start as they lost both their openers Ben Dunk and skipper Tim Paine for the scores of 2 and 5 respectively. Michael Hill and Travis Birt provided some resistance but failed to continue it. Hill made 26 off 19 balls with four 4s. Shoaib Malik, who had a good match with the bowl, scored 42 off just 23 balls. Malik’s surge came very late as Heat’s had lost the grip over the match by that time.
Earlier after being put into bat, Brisbane Heat lost Joe Burns early but Chris Lynn and Peter Forrest then put on a 113-run partnership inside 11 overs and laid the foundation of a big score. Lynn brought up his fifty in 18 balls and continued the onslaught, before losing his wicket to Evan Gulbis. The trio of Dan Christian, Nathan Reardon and Ben Cutting played a quick-fire 20 odd run innings and took the team’s total to 198 in their full quota of 20 overs. Shoaib Malik was the pick of the bowlers for Hurricanes as he returned with the figures of 3-37 in his 4 overs. His three victims were the “trio”.
Brief Scores: Brisbane Heat 198/6 (Lynn 81, Forrest 46, Malik 3-37) defeated Hobart Hurricanes 180/8 (Malik 42, Hilfenhaus 39*, Steketee 2-28) by 18 runs