BBL: Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Stars in thrilling last-ball finish in Big Bash opener

Gurinder Sandhu helped Sydney Thunder get implicit the enactment successful a singular decorativeness against Melbourne Stars

Sydney Thunder bushed Melbourne Stars by 1 wicket successful a thrilling last-ball decorativeness to a low-scoring Big Bash League opener.

Gurinder Sandhu past smashed the 4th shot of the implicit for six to level the scores, leaving Thunder needing 1 from 2 balls.

A dot shot followed and Sandhu played and missed astatine the last delivery, lone for English wicketkeeper Joe Clarke to neglect to stitchery and let Thunder a bye to clinch triumph successful a singular curtain-raiser astatine Canberra's Manuka Oval.

The bowlers were connected apical passim connected a two-paced way and the Stars were soon nether unit aft being asked to bat archetypal arsenic they mislaid some openers wrong 5 overs.

Joe Burns and Marcus Stoinis were cleared to play contempt some investigating affirmative for Covid-19 earlier the crippled but the erstwhile was forced to discontinue wounded aft appearing to propulsion his hamstring, portion the second was dismissed for a aureate duck.

After scrambling to 122-8, the Stars made the perfect commencement with the shot erstwhile their caller overseas signing Trent Boult removed Matthew Gilkes and Rilee Rossouw for ducks successful his archetypal over.

Wickets continued to autumn astatine regular intervals done the innings, 3 of them to Nathan Coulter-Nile, but contempt slumping to 57-5 and past 89-7, the Thunder snuck home.

• Everything you request to cognize arsenic men's Big Bash returns

Late play gives Big Bash aboriginal boost

Ball dominated bat connected a sticky Canberra surface

In a twelvemonth erstwhile the Big Bash needs to marque its mark, amid caller contention from rival franchise Twenty20 competitions successful South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, for a agelong clip it looked arsenic though the tournament's 12th variation would commencement with a whimper.

The accustomed crash, bang, wallop associated with T20 cricket was obscurity to beryllium seen - Stars deed lone 8 boundaries successful their innings.

Even the wickets weren't peculiarly spectacular, with a deficiency of cartwheeling stumps oregon flying catches.

The Thunder innings was mostly similar, but each that volition beryllium forgotten acknowledgment to an exhilarating decision that demonstrated the thrilling payoff low-scoring encounters tin provide.

Flying catches? Stumps retired of the ground? The shot sailing implicit the rope?

The past implicit had each that - Couch moving and leaping to instrumentality a magnificent grab, Webster bowling Fazalhaq Farooqi and Sandhu's important stroke for six - positive a final-ball finish.

You had to hold for it, but the Big Bash is backmost with a bang.