Published: Oct 28, 2012, 10:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 28, 2012, 10:24 PM (IST)
Sydney Sixers celebrate the fall of a wicket in their clash against the Lions © Getty Images
Johannesburg: Oct 28, 2012
Nathan McCullum and Josh Hazlewood claimed three wickets each to help Sydney Sixers dismiss Highveld Lions for a modest 121 in the finals of the Champions League Twenty20.
Sydney Sixers broke the back bone of the Lions as they reduced them to 9-4 in just 3.3 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.
Jean Symes top-scored with a 46-ball 51 to help Lions put up a total or else things could have been more embarrasing for the home team at the New Wanderers Stadiums here.
Symes added 23 runs with Sohail Tanvir for the fifth wicket to start the recovery but the Pakistani player lost his wicket in the seventh over as the Lions lost half their side with just 32 on board.
Symes then forged a 41-run partnership with Thami Tsolekile for the sixth wicket and another 38 with Dwaine Pretorius for the seventh wicket to help Lions cross the 100-mark. Symes had eight fours in his 46-ball innings.
For Sydney Sixers, Steve O’Keefe and Mitchell Starc were the other wicket takers with one wicket each here.
Put into bat, opener Gulam Bodi started off with a six of McCullum but he was send packing in the next delivery by the spinner to deal the first blow in the opening over.
First down Quinton de Kock was then sent back to the pavilions by pacer Hazlewood, courtesy a stunning catch by O’Keefe. Three balls later, Hazlewood reduced Lions to 8-3 after picking new man McKenzie in the last ball of the over.
Stranded all this while, Petersen was the next to go when he outside edged a O’Keefe delivery to Neil McCullum at the first slip.
Symes then tried to resurrect the innings with a couple of boundaries in the fifth over of Starc, while Tanvir also clipped one over square-leg. However, his stay didn’t last long as the Pakistani player was trapped in front of wicket by McCullum.
Undeterred, Symes continued his job and picked up successive fours in the 10th over off Pat Cummins. New man Tsolekile also got into the act and blasted a couple of sixes to ease the pressure.
But McCullum broke the partnership dismissing Tsolekile when he had him caught at short midwicket.
Symes and Pretorius then joined hands and tried to accelerate. Symes picked up a couple of fours off Cummins, while Pretorius clobbered Hazlewood and Starc for a couple of sixes, before becoming a victim of Starc. (PTI)
Brief Scores: HIghveld Lions 121 all-out in 20 overs (Jean Symes 51, Dwaine Pretorius 21; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 22, Nathan McCullum 3 for 24) vs Sydney Sixers
