Thunder shade Sixers in WBBL thriller

Sydney Thunder have edged out WBBL ladder-leaders Sydney Sixers on boundaries hit to win their clash at the SCG after being tied at the end of a super over.

Stafanie Taylor starred as defending WBBL champions Sydney Thunder stayed in semi-final contention after beating competition leaders Sydney Sixers in a super over heart-stopper.

Both teams scored 138 from their 20 overs at the SCG on Saturday and made eight in the subsequent super over.

Thunder won by virtue of hitting more boundaries in their 20 overs, in a game that was watched by a crowd of 17,346 by the end.

Sixers remain top of the table, despite losing for the first time in eight games and Thunder stay in touch with the top four.

West Indian T20 captain Taylor contributed mightily to the Thunder's cause, returning her best batting and bowling figures of the tournament.

The powerful right-hander smashed seven fours and two sixes in an innings of 68 off 51 balls and took 2-15 from three overs.

She struck two big blows with her offspin, removing Sixers topscorer Ashleigh Gardner (54 off 41) and Sixers skipper Ellyse Perry (20), with Sara McGlashan (30) the home team's only other double-digit scorer.

Southern Stars opening bowler Rene Farrell (3-26) did well for Thunder and was a pivotal figure in the super over drama that followed.

Taylor dominated Thunder's reply but lacked support, with no other batter getting to 20.

When she was dismissed with 10 balls to go, Thunder needed 11 to win and then eight off the final over, bowled by spinner Lauren Smith.

Two was needed of the final ball, but Thunder managed a single.

"If she (Taylor) played till the last over I think we would have easily won the match but unfortunately we lost her wicket and still we had a chance to win," Thunder's Indian import Harmanpreet Kaur said.

Thunder couldn't manage a boundary in their final over and Sixers started their's with a four to Alyssa Healy.

However, Farrell kept her cool and the Sixers panicked.

They lost three wickets from the next four balls, two of them to runouts and managed only a single off the last delivery when they needed two.

"I don't think it's a bad thing to lose this far in to the season, we're still on top of the ladder," Gardner said.

"It goes back to 'catches win matches' for us. We did drop Stafanie Taylor quite early and that affected us in the end.

"We had an awesome start to the super over by hitting a four and we just let it go a little bit with only getting ones and twos, we probably should have got across the line."


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Source: AAP


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