Riding on the all-round heroics of Chamari Athapaththu in the WBBL 2023, Sydney Thunder pulled off a remarkable nine-wicket win against the Perth Scorchers, with 23 balls to spare at the Cricket Central, Sydney Olympic Park. Restricting the Perth Scorchers to a dismal 116, Sydney Thunder was at their attacking best with the bat and ball in a remarkable show of cricket.
Sydney Thunder won the toss and decided to bowl first. Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine, the golden opening duo got the Scorchers to the finest possible start scoring at a healthy run rate and in a 43-run partnership were able to lend some much-needed momentum to the batting in the thrilling match of the WBBL 2023.
Their partnership witnessed some massive boundary hitting against Marizanne Kapp which was delightful to watch for the fans. But as the powerplay almost concluded, Lauren Smith got the first breakthrough for the Thunder dismissing Mooney for 25, who was dropped a few balls early on by Heather Knight.
She got Beth Mooney, now she's got Nat Sciver-Brunt too!
Lauren Smith doing the damage for the Thunder #WBBL09 pic.twitter.com/hXjHQHiiFM
— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 18, 2023
Before the Scorchers could recover, Sammy-Jo Johnson was in the thick of things getting the dangerous Sophie Devine out for 15. It was almost as if this dismissal sparked a collapse. Madeleine Darke and Nat Sciver-Brunt tried to sail through the proceedings but were unable to make much of an impact, as the duo was dismissed for indifferent knocks of 6 and 8 respectively.
With Chloe Piparo and Amy Edgar also falling Chamari Athapaththu got these crucial wickets which meant a recovery seemed far from impossible for the Scorchers. With Amy Jones’ blistering 37 coming off just 16 deliveries, Sydney Thunder crawled their way to a disappointing 116/8 in the WBBL 2023.
Undoubtedly, Chamari Athapaththu and Lauren Smith with their two wickets were the pick of the bowlers and with Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Sammy-Jo Johnson and Heather Knight pocketing a wicket each, it was a field day for the Thunder in the field.
Outta here! Chamari's form atm 🫡@WeberBBQAusNZ | #SizzlingSixes | #WBBL09 pic.twitter.com/FUcv5tRl0f
— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 18, 2023
The run chase for the Thunder commenced on a positive note, however, they were rocked by the unfortunate run out of Phoebe Litchfield for 8. But the duo of Chamari Athapaththu and Heather Knight sealed the deal for the Thunder as they not just unleashed their fierce and attacking batting on the Scorchers but stitched a massive 110-run partnership off 83 balls.
Athapaththu with her unbeaten 77 was the highlight, a knock that came from 53 balls that witnessed ten boundaries and three maximums and Knight played excellent second fiddle with a knock of 32 that comprised three boundaries.
Chamari Athapaththu for her all-round brilliance was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ and this win took the Thunder to 15 points with their third place in the table solidified just below the Strikers and the Scorchers at 16 points respectively.
WBBL 2023: Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Thunder Brief Scores
Perth Scorchers 116-8 in 20 overs (Amy Jones 37, Beth Mooney 26, Sophie Devine 15; Lauren Smith 2-12, Chamari Athapaththu 2-23) lost to Sydney Thunder 120-1 in 16.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 77*, Heather Knight 32*) by 9 wickets.
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