ADELAIDE, Australia, CMC – West Indies Twenty20 star, Kieron Pollard, was kept scoreless of the final ball of the match with Melbourne Renegades requiring three runs for victory, as Adelaide Strikers held their nerve to pull off a nerve-jangling win and book their place in the final of the Big Bash League here yesterday.
Chasing 179 at Adelaide Oval, Renegades battled Marcus Harris struck 45, Tom Cooper an unbeaten 36 while Pollard finished unbeaten on 29.
Tim Ludeman chipped in with 28 and Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, 26, but Renegades still found themselves needing 13 runs for victory at the start of the final over.
Kieron Pollard … missed out for Renegades off the last ball of the match.
Pollard then drilled the first ball from seamer Ben Laughlin to the straight boundary before squeezing out a yorker for a single, leaving the visitors needing just eight runs from the last four balls.
Cooper gathered a single off the next ball before Pollard scampered a couple each of the next two deliveries, to put Renegades on the brink of victory.
But Laughlin got the better of Pollard off the final delivery of the match, the right-hander missing a swing at a length ball and managing only to run a bye.
Earlier, Renegades benefitted two key partnerships after stumbling at critical stages. Harris and Ludeman put on 71 for the second wicket after captain Cameron White perished for two in the second over.
And when Harris and Ludeman fell in successive overs with six runs added to leave Renegades on 87 for three in the 10th over, Cooper and Bravo added a further 52 for the fourth wicket to keep the run chase steady.
Captain Travis head had earlier smashed an unbeaten 85 from 57 deliveries as Strikers reached a competitive 178 for five off their 20 overs, after elected to bat first.
He put on 104 for the second wicket with Jake Weatherald whose 57 came from 43 balls.
In Sunday’s final, Strikers will now meet Hobart Hurricanes featuring Barbadian fast bowler Jofra Archer.
