Sydney Thunder edged out Perth Scorchers by 1 run in a nail-biting finish to their Big Bash League encounter at the Spotless Stadium on Wednesday.

On a difficult Sydney pitch that wasn’t conducive to free-flowing batting, England international Jos Buttler held the Thunder’s innings together with his 54-ball 55 that was laced with four fours and a solitary six.

Batting at no. 3, Callum Ferguson contributed 42 runs off 30 balls, adding 82 valuable runs in a second wicket partnership with Buttler that helped the final total to 142.

Fawad Alam was the standout bowler for the Thunder, scalping two wickets in his four overs while giving away just 22 runs. He also inflicted Hilton Cartwright’s dismissal with a direct hit to left the Scorchers reeling at 54 for 5.

Scorchers looked down and out with half their team in the dugout before skipper Ashton Turner dug them out of the deep hole. He went on to score 60 runs off 36 balls, with the help of five boundaries and one six. Turner reached his fifty in the final over of the game, with his team needing 20 runs off the last six balls bowled by Daniel Sams, but they fell agonisingly short of a memorable win.

Ferguson was adjudged Player of the Match for his 42-run knock.

The win arrested the Thunder’s two-match losing streak and they now sit second in the table behind Hobart Hurricanes, while the Scorchers, the three-time BBL champions, lie a lowly seventh in the standings.

The Thunder will play Melbourne Stars in their next match on January 5 while the Scorchers will face Brisbane Heat at home on the same day.

First Published: Jan 02, 2019 18:44 IST