Thunder Stay Composed in Challenging Conditions to Edge Closer to Home Grand Final

Sydney Thunder are one win away from their third WBBL grand final after securing a tense final-over victory over Melbourne Stars. Hannah Darlington played a key role with the ball, helping restrict the Stars to 108 for 9. She later hit the winning runs with two balls and four wickets to spare. With this win,…


Thunder Stay Composed in Challenging Conditions to Edge Closer to Home Grand Final

Sydney Thunder are one win away from their third WBBL grand final after securing a tense final-over victory over Melbourne Stars.

Hannah Darlington played a key role with the ball, helping restrict the Stars to 108 for 9. She later hit the winning runs with two balls and four wickets to spare.

With this win, Thunder can finish first if they beat second-placed Melbourne Renegades in their final match on Saturday. This would give them direct qualification for the final on December 1 and home-field advantage.

A loss to the Renegades would likely place Thunder second or third, meaning they would need to win at least one knockout match to reach the final.

For the Stars, who are at the bottom of the table with only two wins from eight matches, this loss continues a tough season.

The match wasn’t as straightforward for Thunder as it seemed. They were struggling at 15 for 3 in the third over, thanks to Marizanne Kapp’s three wickets. They then fell to 38 for 4, but Tahlia Wilson and Anika Learoyd stabilized the innings. With 23 needed from 20 balls, Wilson was caught for 33 while trying to take on Kim Garth. Stars had chances to dismiss Learoyd, but missed both run-out and boundary-catch opportunities. Learoyd hit the first ball of the last over for two, then a four, and a single before Darlington completed the win.


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Darlington had earlier taken 3 for 26 from her four overs, including dismissing Meg Lanning for 12 with a smart off-cutter. Shashikala Athapaththu also impressed with 2 for 12 from four overs and a direct-hit run out to dismiss Tess Flintoff, helping Thunder close in on their first grand final since their 2020 title win.