Perth Scorchers beat Brisbane Heat by 49 runs to enter BBL final

Perth Scorchers defeated Brisbane Heat by 49 runs in the knockout tie to book their place in the BBL final. Batting first, Liam Livingstone (77) and Cameron Bancroft (58*) put on a 114-run opening partnership. Mitchell Marsh (49* off 28) then added the finishing touches before rain stopped play with the Scorchers at 189-1 in 18.1 overs.

The game was curtailed to an 18-over encounter with Brisbane Heat needing 200 runs for the win. However, after losing Chris Lynn and Joe Denly in the 4th over, the Heat never recovered and could manage only 150-9 in 18 overs.

Brief BBL score: Perth Scorchers 189-1 in 18.1 overs (Livingstone 77, Swepson 1-26), Brisbane Heat 150-9 in 18 overs (Burns 38, Hardie 3-46). Perth Scorchers won by 49 runs (D/L method).

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Brisbane Heat bow out of the BBL

Brisbane Heat needed over 10 runs per over from the word go, but they started cautiously in the first two overs. But the third over from Jhye Richardson brought 22 runs as Chris Lynn hit a six and a four.

The next over from Jason Behrendorff turned out to be a game-changer. He dismissed both the openers in successive deliveries. Chris Lynn (22) was clean bowled whereas Joe Denly (14) was caught at mid-on after getting a leading edge.

Jason Behrendorff made the powerplay his own with the wickets of both Heat openers! 💪@BKTtires | #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/8IRC2umaiT

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 4, 2021

After that setback, Brisbane Heat never looked like getting to the total. Marnus Labuschagne (15) and Jimmy Peirson (15) got starts but failed to kick on. Joe Burns (38) provided some resistance in the end but it turned out to be futile.

Perth Scorchers' opening stand gets them to BBL final

Brisbane Heat won the toss and opted to field first. The Scorchers were off to a rollicking start as Liam Livingstone, and Cameron Bancroft put up 61 runs in the first six overs. Livingstone was the aggressive of the two and scored 44 of those runs early on.

Marnus Labuschagne was smashed for 27 runs in the 9th over as Livingstone hit three sixes and a boundary. After ten overs, the Scorchers reached 108-0 with Cameron Bancroft playing the anchor role and Livingstone going ballistic at the other end.

Mitchell Swepson finally broke the opening partnership as Livingstone holed out at deep mid-wicket for a brilliant inning of 77 off 39 balls.

Mitchell Marsh moved himself up the order. After knocking a few deliveries around, he soon got into his element. The BBL Power Surge was taken in the 16th over. Morne Morkel got hit for 22 runs with the Scorchers managing 33 runs from the BBL Power Surge. The Scorchers looked all set to breach the 200-run mark.

4 4 2 wd 6 1 42 0 wd 4 0 4 0 Great surge for the Scorchers - 33 runs! #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/L7EYUKmYHg

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 4, 2021

However, rain played spoilsport as the game was stopped at the 18.1-over mark when the score read 189-1. The Heat were set a revised score of 200 in 18 overs with just one over of BBL Power Surge, which they failed to chase.