Chloe Tryon’s clean striking ended Sydney Sixers’ unbeaten start to the WBBL season, lifting Melbourne Renegades to a thrilling two-wicket win off the final ball at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.
The Sixers had won all five matches this season and were chasing a sixth straight victory, but the Renegades chased down 153 to win with no balls to spare, finishing on 156 for 8. The result lifts the Renegades to 3-3 and fifth on the table, while the Sixers stay top despite their first defeat.
Ashleigh Gardner had earlier delivered with bat and ball for the Sixers, smashing 55 from 31 balls, with five fours and four sixes, to pilot them to 152 for 6. Sophia Dunkley made 49 from 45 balls, but Georgia Wareham’s 3 for 19 kept the total in check, claiming the prized scalp of Gardner herself.
The Renegades’ chase then fell apart. Gardner’s off-spin removed three of their top four as they crashed to 44 for 4, and the game looked gone. Captain Sophie Molineux restored hope with 38 from 25 balls, adding 48 off 27 with Tryon, and Tryon then shared a stand of 28 off 15 with Tess Flintoff to take the game into the final over.
The Renegades needed 13 from the last over, bowled by Gardner. Tryon, who had earlier dropped a catch in the deep during Gardner’s half-century, made amends, heaving the next delivery over the leg-side fence and then clattering a four to leave two needed from three balls. She fell for 43 from 23 balls, caught by Erin Burns off Gardner, but Milly Illingworth and Nicole Faltum dragged their side over the line, Illingworth levelling the scores with a single off the penultimate ball before Faltum drove the final delivery for four.
Tryon, named Player of the Match, was relieved with the result. “I was a bit unfortunate at the back end, I probably wasn’t looking at the scoreboard,” she told the Seven Network. Molineux said the win should give the group plenty of confidence. “Hopefully that goes a long way in terms of the season and the confidence we can have,” she said. “That [win] says a lot about this group. The vibes have been the exact same throughout [the season], we’re 3-3 and still have a big four games to go.”
Gardner finished with 4 for 33, but her all-round brilliance could not prevent the Sixers’ first defeat of the season. She remains at the top of both the WBBL’s run-scoring and wicket-taking charts. The Sixers next face Adelaide Strikers at Karen Rolton Oval on Tuesday, while the Renegades are not in action until Friday’s clash with the Strikers at Adelaide Oval.
Related:
https://t20star.com/wolvaardts-unbeaten-83-and-mushangwes-five-for-end-scorchers-unbeaten-run-as-strikers-win-by-51-runs/
https://t20star.com/kerrs-53-and-gardners-final-over-heroics-keep-sydney-sixers-perfect-with-11-run-win-over-renegades/
