Steve Smith seal semi-final spot for Sydney Sixers

At the start of this match, AD Jackerman, while doing the pitch-report mentioned that this wicket would certainly seam a bit with the new-ball and it won’t be easy for batsman to play the new-ball. That’s exactly what happened as Sydney Sixers thrashed Lions convincingly by 8 wickets.

Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bowl first on a pitch which had a tinge of grass to it as Haddin wanted to make use of the conditions first. Though his bowlers were expensive in their first spell, they came back strongly in the second-spell and got the important wickets of Lions. Lions openers Bodi and skipper Petersen got them off to a splendid start as the duo put on a handy 30 runs opening partnership in quick time before Petersen was caught behind off Hazelwood for 5. Soon after, young de Kock joined hands with Bodi as they counter-attacked Sixers’ pacers despite the loss of Petersen. However, the partnership had been broken by Watson, who struck in his first ball of the second over as he bowled a length ball, which angled across and a slight away movement was enough to deceive de Kock.

Soon after, McKenzie took the responsibility and played some gorgeous strokes initially to up the ante. He and Bodi looked in fine nick as both were finding the gaps easily. But the fall of McKenzie’s wicket brought down the scoring rate for Lions as the next couple of hitters were back in the pavilion in quick succession. There was no big partnership in the Lions’ innings, which could have proved handy especially against a world-class side like Sydney Sixers. At last, Lions could only manage 137 runs for the loss of 9 wickets of the allotted 20 overs.

It was a splendid bowling effort from the Sixers as they made full use of the new-ball and their strike bowler Starc did the job once again for his side by picking up three wickets. He was also economical against a strong batting line-up.

That meant, Sydney Sixers had to chase less than 7.00 runs per over, which shouldn’t have been a tough task as their top-order has been in sublime form. Yet again, Watson and Lumb provided the start that was required at the top of the order.

Watson and Lumb struck some gorgeous boundaries initially to turn the heat on Lions as early as possible. Watson looked in fine nick, so did Lumb. They stuck to the basics and did not try anything more than what was required at that stage. Shot selection was accurate and both were finding the middle of the bat on every occasion when they tried to hit a boundary or a six.

But some hope came for Lions when their most reliable bowler Phangiso removed Lumb and Thornley off successive deliveries. Phangiso once again accounted for another dismissal as he got rid of the dangerous Shane Watson (47) as the latter looked for a slog sweep outside off, but top-edged and the keeper made no mistake. Subsequently, Steve Smith stuck it out with skipper Haddin for 42 runs for the fourth wicket to inch closer towards the Lions’ total. However, there was a sudden twist in the game when Nannes grabbed the wicket of Haddin for 32 and Morris scalped the wicket of all-rounder Henriques for 9. Steve Smith however, kept his composure despite the loss of two wickets and took Sydney Sixers to a comprehensive five-wicket victory over Lions.

Sydney Sixers, therefore seal the semi-final spot with this resounding win against Lions. It was the bowlers who had the set the tone for Sydney Sixers. At the moment, Sydney Sixers look invincible and if they continue to replicate the same in the upcoming matches it would be hard to stop this team!