A dazzling century by Travis Head has led the Adelaide Strikers to a nail-biting five-wicket victory over the Sydney Sixers in the BBL.
Head smashed a remarkable nine sixes on his way to an unbeaten 101 off 53 balls as the Strikers chased down the Sixers' 5-176 to the delight of a sellout Adelaide Oval crowd on Friday night.
The Strikers started slowly and needed 55 to win off the final four overs but Head took over the game, smacking three consecutive sixes off the bowling of Sean Abbott to bring up his century and win the game in the final over.
Abbott had a night to forget, finishing on 1-51 after a late onslaught from Head.
Sydney made a strong start after being sent in to bat by the Strikers, with Brad Haddin (54 off 35) and Ed Cowan (43 off 32) delivering impressive knocks.
Haddin didn't take his position behind the stumps when the Sixers took the field and later revealed he had tweaked his groin while batting.
"I'm not sure what it was, I just felt something pop," he said.
"I've never had that issue before so I don't know what it is. It's a bit frustrating. It was great fun out there."
Opener Michael Lumb was also substituted out with a hamstring complaint for the Sixers, adding to an injury list that already contains star allrounder Moises Henriques.
English legspinner Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers for the Strikers, finishing with 3-34 to continue his fine run of form in his debut BBL season.
Head downplayed his innings after the game, saying he was pleased to have found form after struggling for consistency.
"I think I still have a lot to prove and a lot to improve," he said.
"We probably got ourselves into a bit of a tough situation towards the end where we had to do something pretty ridiculous to win.
"I was fortunate enough to get a couple out of the middle which I was probably due to do in the tournament."
Teammate Alex Ross said Head's performance had filled the side with confidence.
"He showed the competition how good he is," he said.
"He is really a powerhouse. Hopefully, this puts his name up in lights."
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