Brisbane Heat captain Usman Khawaja has demolished his former teammates in Friday evening’s Eliminator, smacking an entertaining 94 (55) against the Sydney Thunder at Sydney Showground.
Khawaja combined with Marnus Labuschagne for a 128-run partnership for the second wicket to help the Heat register 5-203 from their 20 overs, the highest team total at the venue in BBL history.
The Thunder and Heat, who finished fourth and fifth on the BBL ladder respectively, are facing off to determine who will progress through to Sunday’s Knockout against the Melbourne Renegades. The loser’s season is over.
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After the Thunder won the toss and elected to field first, debutant Ross Pawson got his Big Bash career off to a rocky start, leaking 15 runs in his first over of the evening.
Thunder captain Chris Green snared an early breakthrough in fourth over, with Heat opener Josh Brown caught at long on for 3 (7).
Following a cautious start, Khawaja accelerated after the drinks break, bringing up his half-century in the 11th over with an elegant leg glance, reaching the milestone in 38 deliveries.
“This is so dangerous,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket.
“This is just elite batting, like an adult playing against Under-12s.”
Khawaja’s partnership with Labuschagne surpassed triple figures before the latter brought up his maiden Big Bash half-century with a swat through mid-wicket in the 16th over.
However, the left-handed Khawaja fell agonisingly short of his century, falling victim to Ben Cutting and edging behind in the 17th over for 94.
Matthew Renshaw provided some late fireworks, plundering three sixes before miscuing a reverse sweep, bowled by Green for 24 (8).
Labuschagne’s classy knock came to an end on the penultimate delivery of the innings, caught at long-on for 73 (48). The Heat had scored 139 runs from their last 10 overs.
Thunder opener David Warner, one of most prolific T20 batters in history, has been underwhelming this season with scores of 19, 0, 26, 16 and 2, but all would be forgiven if the veteran powers the men in lime green to victory.
“Looking back at our season, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster,” Thunder batter Jason Sangha said on Thursday.
“The one good thing is we’ve managed to find a way in those tight situations, we’re just finding ways to win.
“In the finals series, all you need is a couple of things to go your way.
“For us going forward, it’s just recognising those key moments in a game.”
The Thunder scraped into the finals despite being rolled by the Adelaide Strikers for 15 during the group stage.
“You’re not sure which Thunder are going to turn up. The all out 15 Thunder and then there’s the Thunder who can beat the Scorchers in Perth,” former Australian batter Michael Hussey told SEN.
“They’re a good team, they’ve just got to put it together.
“They haven’t been scoring enough runs of late.
“The batting, since Alex Hales has left, I think they need David Warner to get a big one for them.”
Meanwhile, Heat captain Usman Khawaja comes up against his former club for the first time on Friday evening
“Usman is a world class figure, and he’s friends with everyone at Thunder,” Thunder batter Alex Ross said.
“However, it would be great to get him out cheaply to ensure he doesn’t score any runs at Sydney Showground Stadium and put us under pressure.
“He’s a class player, and it will be a great experience to play against him.”
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Thunder XI
David Warner, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Jason Sangha, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green (c), Ross Pawson, Usman Qadir
Heat XI
Usman Khawaja (c), Josh Brown, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, Jimmy Peirson (wk), James Bazley, Michael Neser, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Kuhnemann