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Match details

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Gujarat Titans (GT)
Chennai, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture: Gaikwad vs Gill

When Chennai Super Kings ran into Gujarat Titans in a bizarre three-day rain-hit final in IPL 2023, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya were in charge of the teams, respectively. Shubman Gill took over Titans’ captaincy after Hardik had moved back to Mumbai Indians in what is arguably the biggest player trade in IPL history.Then, on the eve of the IPL season-opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad was announced as CSK’s new captain. Gill’s expression at the captains’ conference was roughly how most of Chennai reacted to Dhoni handing over the captaincy to Gaikwad. Gill and Gaikwad, the most inexperienced Indian captains in the IPL, will now face each other at Chepauk on Tuesday.Gill and Gaikwad have already grabbed the headlines with their captaincy. After Titans snatched victory from Mumbai Indians’ grasp in Ahmedabad on Sunday, their debutant Spencer Johnson talked up Gill’s leadership, saying the captain sat alongside him on the bus to help calm his nerves in the lead-up to the game. As for Gaikwad, he rifled through fielding changes in his first game as IPL captain, and one such change, which involved extra-cover moving to sweeper cover, brought CSK their first wicket.Related

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The other interesting subplot in this game is the Chennai boys vs Chennai Super Kings. Titans have as many as five Tamil Nadu players in their side – Sai Sudharsan, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Shahrukh Khan and Sandeep Warrier. Among the quintet, Sudharsan, Kishore and Vijay are set to slot into Titans’ XI or XII (accounting for the Impact Player). Sudharsan, Kishore and Vijay all have been part of CSK or Junior Super Kings, their grassroots programme. And back in the day, Shahrukh used to be a ball boy at Chepauk for IPL matches. In contrast, CSK don’t have a single local player in their main squad.At his pre-match press conference, CSK coach Stephen Fleming was even asked if this would be a “home game” for Titans. “A few of the players will be at home in terms of conditions,” Fleming responded. “But yeah, it’s hard to say.”Sai Sudharsan should start if Gujarat Titans bat first•BCCI

Team news: Pathirana links up with CSK

Sri Lanka’s death-bowling specialist Matheesha Pathirana has joined CSK’s squad in Chennai, but it remains to be seen if he will be rushed into action after having suffered a hamstring injury. Mustafizur Rahman, who marked his CSK debut with four wickets in a space of ten balls in the season-opener, could keep his place in the team ahead of Pathirana.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

If CSK bat first, Shivam Dube should start, with Mustafizur coming in as an Impact Player in the second innings. It could be vice-versa if CSK bowl first.Chennai Super Kings
Possible bat-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Daryl Mitchell, , 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sameer Rizvi, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Tushar DeshpandePossible bowl-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sameer Rizvi, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Tushar Deshpande, Gujarat Titans
Having won their first match of the season, Titans might persist with the same XI and Impact Player strategy. Sudharsan should start if they bat first, and could be replaced by Mohit Sharma or one of the bowlers. And it could be vice-versa if Titans bowl first.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), , 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 R Sai Kishore, 11 Spencer JohnsonPossible bowl-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Azmatullah Omarzai, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Umesh Yadav, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Spencer Johnson, MS Dhoni has hit Umesh Yadav for 68 runs off 38 balls in seven IPL innings•BCCI

Stats that matter

• Gaikwad has a strong head-to-head record against Rashid Khan in the IPL: 95 runs off 60 balls in seven innings at an average of 47.5, and a strike rate of 158.3. Only Sanju Samson (111) has scored more runs than Gaikwad against Rashid in the IPL.
• Ajinkya Rahane’s first-ten balls strike-rate since the start of IPL 2023 is 158.3. In comparison, his first-ten balls strike-rate between 2018 and 2020 was just 85.1.
• Dhoni has hit Umesh Yadav for 68 runs off 38 balls in seven IPL innings with just one dismissal at a strike-rate of nearly 180.
• Since IPL 2023, Titans’ seamers have taken 25 wickets in the powerplay at an economy rate of 8.35. No other team has picked up more wickets in the first six overs during this period. Azmatullah Omarzai, a genuine swing bowler from Afghanistan, has strengthened Titans even further in this area.

Pitch and conditions

The Chepauk pitch that was used on Friday was an atypical one, with not much turn on offer for the spinners. Instead, the ball slid on to the bat nicely, especially in the early exchanges. Believe it or not, CSK’s spinners didn’t take a single wicket in the season-opener. It was only the second instance of CSK’s spinners going wicketless at Chepauk since May 2015.”If you’ve noticed my comments over the last couple of seasons, we’ve been guessing a little bit about the wicket as well,” Fleming said. “But it looks pretty good [today].”

Last year’s beaten finalists The Blaze have qualified for Finals Day again after winning their seventh successive Charlotte Edwards Cup match of the ongoing campaign, by 13 runs against struggling Northern Diamonds at Headingley.Blaze, who defended a 160-target, are the runaway leaders at the top of the table but were threatened by a Diamonds side who have lost six of their seven games and now need a miracle to qualify for the showpiece day at Derby on June 22. Even winning their three remaining games may not be sufficient.International pair Kathryn Bryce and Tammy Beaumont underpinned their side’s 159 for 7 with impressive scores of 54 off 39 balls and 45 off 33 respectively. England fringe wicketkeeper-batter Bess Heath then crashed 59 off 32, but the hosts fell from 94 for 2 in the 12th over to 146 all out in the 20th.England legspinner Sarah Glenn claimed 3 for 32 and Bryce continued her excellent day by removing Heath caught at deep cover as one of two wickets with her seamers.After the early departure of Teresa Graves, stumped off the impressive offspin of Erin Burns – she returned 3 for 19 – Scotland’s Bryce and England opener Beaumont shared a blistering second-wicket 78 inside eight overs to advance Blaze from 11 for 1 in the third over having been inserted.Both hit sixes down the ground, Beaumont’s arrow straight one off the seam of Rachel Slater, in particular, lighting up a grey Headingley day.The start of play was delayed by 15 minutes because of rain, while a minute’s silence in memory of local Rugby League legend Rob Burrow was observed.This was Beaumont’s best T20 score since scoring a century in the Hundred for Welsh Fire last August. After she fell, caught at short fine leg trying to sweep Sophia Turner’s seam – 89 for 2 in the 10th over – Diamonds did fight back admirably.Allrounder Burns helped offspinner Katherine Fraser remove Sarah Bryce with a catch at mid-off before bowling her fellow Australian allrounder Heather Graham.Wickets continued to fall. Bryce, having reached a dynamic fifty off 34 balls, was one of them. She reverse swept legspinner Katie Levick to short third, the first of two wickets in the 17th over as Ella Claridge was bowled, leaving Blaze 139 for 6. Burns had Glenn well caught at long-on by Lauren Winfield-Hill in the search for late runs.When new-ball seamer Grace Ballinger had Winfield-Hill caught at cover and Glenn bowled Hollie Armitage, leaving Diamonds at 18 for 2 in the third over, it seemed like a forlorn task for the hosts given they had not posted above 140 in their previous CE Cup matches this season.But Heath had other ideas, crashing five of her first 11 balls to the boundary. She hit 10 fours in her fifty off 28 balls, with her famed switch hit on show alongside brute power.However, just when the Diamonds looked like they were going to win, things changed again. Stere Kalis fell caught behind off Glenn, and Heath was caught at deep cover off Kathryn Bryce, as two of four wickets to fall for 26 from 94 for 2 in the 12th over to 120 for 6 in the 15th. That was game over.Glenn later struck for a third time and Bryce for a second as Blaze wrapped things up.

Lancashire 136 for 2 (Salt 70, Livingstone 54*) beat Nottinghamshire 131 for 7 (James 51, Wood 3-23) by eight wicketsLancashire became the second North Group side to qualify for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, brushing struggling Nottinghamshire aside by eight wickets chasing 132 at Emirates Old Trafford as England duo Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone starred on their return to county action.Second-placed Lightning joined leaders Birmingham in progressing courtesy of their seventh win in 13 games, set up by a polished bowling display led by left-arm quick Luke Wood’s season’s best three for 23 in limiting his former county to 131 for seven.All-rounder Lyndon James top-scored with a career best 51 off 38 balls before Salt underpinned a successful chase with a more destructive 70 off 42, including five sixes, in his first innings after T20 World Cup duty.Livingstone, another returning international, also contributed a wicket, three catches and 54 not out off 37 with three sixes. He shared a second-wicket 112 with Salt as victory was sealed with 5.3 overs remaining.Lancashire became the first county to achieve 150 wins in Blast history.From the moment Outlaws captain Joe Clarke got a thick edge behind off Saqib Mahmood’s pace, leaving the visitors two for one after eight balls, Lightning controlled things.The Outlaws, inserted, slipped to 28 for four inside six overs, Wood claiming his first – Jack Haynes caught at deep square-leg – added to other scalps for spinners Chris Green and Tom Hartley.The latter, England’s left-arm spinner, had Matt Montgomery caught at deep square-leg for his first wicket in any format since May 12, owing much to him being a squad member only at the recent T20 World Cup.In terms of games won, Nottinghamshire (144) are the second-most successful side in Blast history. But they will want to forget this campaign having only won twice so far.James and Tom Moores shared a fifth-wicket 53 inside eight overs and hit a six apiece to stem the tide and at least get the Outlaws into an innings which saw home captain Keaton Jennings employ four spinners to share 12 overs.Irish overseas debutant George Dockrell wasn’t one, but Livingstone was.And he broke the partnership when Moores miscued a wider delivery to long-off for 26 – 81 for five in the 13th over.After Wood struck again to get Liam Patterson-White caught at deep cover, James reached his fifty off 37 balls – by which time Nottinghamshire were 122 for six early in the 19th over.But, having mixed power with invention, James fell next ball to a brilliant diving catch from Livingstone at deep mid-wicket to hand Wood his third wicket.The visitors did well to get the total they did, though it just didn’t feel like one to threaten Lancashire’s progression through to a 17th quarter-final in 22 seasons.Afghanistan quick Fazalhaq Farooqi had Luke Wells caught at point in the second over of the chase – 14 for one – to raise Outlaws’ hopes.Livingstone, in at three, was dropped in the deep on five and 20 en-route to a fifty later achieved with the winning hit – a pulled six off Farooqi.Salt pulled Olly Stone for an early six and hit Luke Fletcher for two more in succession over the off-side shortly afterwards.By the time Salt reached his fifty off 31 balls, Lancashire – now on course for a home tie in the quarters – were motoring at 84 for one in the 10th over.Salt hit two more sixes off Fletcher’s seam to bring up the century partnership with Livingstone before falling to Patterson-White’s spin.

South Africa will rest several first-choice players on their tour of the UAE this month, where they face Afghanistan and Ireland in white-ball matches, as their Champions Trophy preparation gets underway. None of Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, David Miller or Heinrich Klaasen will feature in either the ODI or T20I squads. The management has widened the player pool instead with some fresh names.Allrounder Jason Smith, who made his T20I debut in West Indies last month, has been given a maiden ODI call-up alongside legspinner Nqabayomzi Peter, who has recovered from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the Caribbean tour. The other new face is 21-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Andile Simelane, who has been part of South Africa Emerging and ‘A’ sides recently and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads against Afghanistan.South Africa ODI squad vs Afghanistan, Ireland•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lungi Ngidi, who suffered a right calf injury during the Caribbean tour, has recovered and is expected to lead the attack but Quinton de Kock, who has not confirmed his retirement from T20Is, does not feature. Kwena Maphaka, who made his debut against West Indies, has not been included as he completes his final school examinations. Donovan Ferreira is the only other player from the West Indies T20I series who will not be on this tour, while Matthew Breetzke has been included in the T20I squad.Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks and Simelane are part of the ODI squad against Afghanistan, but not for the ODIs against Ireland. Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton are present only for the Ireland ODIs.South Africa T20I squad vs Ireland•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We have decided to give opportunities to some of the fringe players as well as those who have impressed in recent weeks and months,” Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach, said in a statement. “This has been a deliberate move from management, in line with our goal of building a wider pool of players to choose from, as we prepare for the major ICC tournaments taking place over the next 18 months, with a long-term view on the 50-over World Cup in 2027.”South Africa ODI squad against AfghanistanTemba Bavuma (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqabayomzi Peter, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams.South Africa T20I squad against IrelandAiden Markram (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad WilliamsSouth Africa ODI squad against IrelandTemba Bavuma (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams

Andrew Flintoff will oversee a 19-man squad in South Africa next month in his first assignment as the new England Lions head coach, with Jafer Chohan – the Yorkshire legspinner who was this week named in his first senior white-ball squad – among six new inclusions in the set-up.The tour, which comprises a training camp and a four-day unofficial Test against South Africa A in Western Province, will run from November 20 to December 14, and will be an opportunity for a clutch of promising players to replicate the training methods of the senior men’s squad, who will playing a Test series in New Zealand during the same timeframe.Josh Hull, who was an original inclusion for the ongoing Test tour of Pakistan but withdrew with a quad injury, has been named in the Lions party, having played his only Test to date against Sri Lanka at the Kia Oval last month.He is one of four players with prior experience of the senior men’s set-up, the others being Dan Mousley and Dillon Pennington, who were non-playing squad members in the summer just gone, and Pat Brown, the Derbyshire and former Worcestershire seamer who played the last of his four T20Is in 2019.Chohan, the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy to be named in an England squad, is set to play a limited role in the South Africa tour due to his prior Big Bash League commitments, as is Matt Hurst, the Lancashire wicketkeeper-batter who is also making his first Lions tour.The squad also includes a number of recent graduates from England’s Under-19 set-up, among them Harry Moore, a highly-rated 17-year-old Derbyshire fast bowler, and Freddie McCann, the Nottinghamshire opener whose century in last week’s final round of the County Championship helped to preserve his team’s top-flight status.Related

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Flintoff, who is also the head coach of Northern Superchargers in the Men’s Hundred, said: “We’re delighted to have such a high-potential group of players heading to South Africa. In selecting these players, we have a mix of well-established performers who’ve been in the England setup and excelled in the domestic game, through to some of the most exciting young talent coming through.”The camp will support and accelerate the players’ development, provide insight into various aspects of the international setup and aid their transition into future performance set-ups”.England Men’s performance director, Ed Barney, added: “Selection aligns with England’s short and long-term needs across all formats, and we will continue supporting a group of exciting pace bowlers. Over half the squad consists of seamers, reflecting our continued focus on supporting these players to achieve their potential.”We are also excited about the competitive match opportunities, with a four-day fixture against South Africa A offering the opportunity for the squad to enjoy putting their skills on show against strong opposition.”The full coaching and support staff will be announced shortly.England Lions squad: Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire), Zaman Akhtar (Gloucestershire), Kasey Aldridge (Somerset), Pat Brown (Derbyshire), Jafer Chohan (Yorkshire), James Coles (Sussex), Henry Crocombe (Sussex), Josh Hull (Leicestershire), Matt Hurst (Lancashire), Tom Lawes (Surrey), Freddie McCann (Nottinghamshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Harry Moore (Derbyshire), Dan Mousley (Warwickshire), Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire), James Rew (Somerset), Hamza Shaikh (Warwickshire), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire), John Turner (Hampshire)

After competing in phases through the first Test in Chennai, Bangladesh ultimately paid the price for their top-half collapsing in the first innings, according to captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. India beat the visitors by 280 runs with over five sessions to spare. Bangladesh were bowled out for 234 in their second innings, an improvement on their 149 all out in their first. They had slipped to 40 for 5 on the second afternoon, a phase of play that Shanto believes cost them the game.”We didn’t bat well in the first innings”, Shanto said. “It was a very important phase of the game. We could have been in a better position if we had at least one [big] top-order partnership. There will always be a challenge for the top order to do well, especially in the first innings. It is important to see how we are coping with it. We are working towards it but we are not getting the desired results.”The top order recovered slightly in the second attempt on the third day when openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam added 62 runs, although in pursuit of a stiff 515.Related

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“It is important to spend the time in the wicket but it wasn’t enough [today],” Shanto said. “Still, it will help for the second Test. It was very important for the openers to put on 62 runs. That’s one thing we can look forward to in the next Test match.”Shanto scored his first Test fifty in 11 innings and finished with 82 which included eight fours and three sixes. While that will encourage the visitors, he believes he could have done much better.”That’s usually how I bat in these type of conditions. I was clear with my plan. I think everyone has a different plan. I hope they (India) will plan differently in the next match,” he said.Unlike his nervous start in the first innings, Shanto adjusted to the pace of the game quite well in the second. He attacked R Ashwin as the rough outside his off stump was relatively benign on the third afternoon. He quickly reached his half-century too, off 55 balls, while others like Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan struggled to tackle the Indian bowling.Shanto’s scoring pattern in his Test career has been all or nothing. Out of his 57 innings, he has been dismissed 32 times between the scores of 0 and 19, and on 14 occasions in the twenties and thirties. He has also frequently converted fifties into centuries. Before this Test, every time crossed the seventies, he got to his century. His 82 in Chennai was the first time he got out in the eighties in a Test innings.1:25

India ‘stood out’ despite not playing on rank turner – Manjrekar

When Bangladesh resumed the fourth day on 158 for 4, Shanto found Mohammed Siraj tough to negotiate. He played out a couple of maiden overs, and only got Siraj away for a pulled four in the 46th over.”The morning session was tough today. The way Siraj was bowling. They were all bowling really well. Shakib also batted well. We tried to contribute for the team. We tried to bat as long as we could. Today’s morning session was one positive thing. We didn’t bat well after that,” Shanto said.When India captain Rohit Sharma brought on Ashwin, who had already taken three wickets on the third day, the stand between Shakib and Shanto was broken, which triggered the collapse of six wickets for 40 runs.”I think it was quite challenging to bat today. They were bowling in the rough. I don’t want to use it as an excuse. These are challenges we have to take,” said Shanto, who was the eighth wicket to fall but by then the writing was on the wall.Bangladesh’s openers had earlier bounced back with an encouraging effort on the third day. Similar to how they played in Rawalpindi in the second Test against Pakistan, both Zakir and Shadman offered a straighter bat to the ball, kept their cool in the initial exchanges and got off to a quick start. But just like it happened in Rawalpindi, both fell after building a solid platform.While Shanto said that he wants the openers to play their “natural game”, batting coach David Hemp said on the third day that the openers are still in the phase of working on their starts at the crease.”It goes without saying that you need to start well and once you have faced 20 or 30 balls, you get a bit of idea of what’s happening,” Hemp said. “You want to go on from that, especially when you scored 30 or 40 runs. You have done the hard work, so make sure you cash in. We did it in patches in Pakistan.”We will keep working on it in practice. We have to get ourselves in first, as that’s something we haven’t done well enough. If you go back to March [against Sri Lanka], we were not doing well enough. So we are doing that better now. But once you get to 40-60 balls, ideally you bat 120 balls. When you do that, you will walk away with a reasonable reward.”The openers’ mini-fightback and Shanto’s knock were the only two aspects of their batting that will give Bangladesh some confidence on their way to Kanpur. At the same time though, the top-half’s abject failure in the first innings will haunt them until they get it right. Several batters need to step up. Otherwise Bangladesh could be staring down the barrel again.

Australia’s all-format powerhouse Travis Head has signed to play with Adelaide Strikers in the upcoming BBL season despite a hectic international playing schedule meaning he could only be available for a maximum of three games in between Test commitments.Head, 30, has signed a one-year deal to play for the Strikers, a club he captained to the BBL title in 2017-18 but has not played for since the 2022-23 season. The upcoming five-match Test series against India followed by a Test tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy means Head will only be available for three matches on January 11, 15 and 18.The BBL was hopeful that Australia’s Test stars would be available to give the competition a boost at the back end of this summer’s tournament but despite the window, there are some concerns over player workload coming out of a gruelling high-profile Test series against India and with so little time to prepare for an overseas Test tour in spinning conditions in Sri Lanka.Related

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Dates for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka are yet to be locked in but it is understood the first Test could start as early as January 29, and the Australia team has consistently wanted a ten-day preparation period on the ground for an overseas tour. Strikers’ last away game is in Perth on January 18 meaning Head could be forced to travel to Perth the night before potentially leaving for Sri Lanka.Head’s workload overall has become a key consideration for Australia’s selectors and coaching staff since becoming an all-format player in the last 12 months. There were some concerns over his decision to play in the recent Major League Cricket tournament in July on the back of a huge non-stop period of playing that started with the 2023 ODI World Cup and then included five home Tests, a T20I and Test tour of New Zealand, a full IPL and the T20 World Cup.Head is being rested from the ODI and T20I series against Pakistan ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, partly due to the upcoming birth of his second child.But his decision to add some BBL cricket in a period in January will mean his next decent break will likely have to wait until after the Champions Trophy on February and March, but even that may only be short given he will either be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL or bought at the mega Auction.Australia then could play the World Test Championship final straight after the IPL before a Test of the West Indies in June and July.New Strikers coach Tim Paine is aware of the workload Head has but was keen to have him play some BBL matches.”We understand Trav has a hectic international schedule,” Paine said. “But we also know how much he loves getting back in the blue whenever the chance arises and we look forward to our fans being treated to more of his magic this summer.”

Brisbane Heat produced a dominant performance to storm into the WBBL final, after Jemimah Rodrigues made Sydney Thunder pay for clumsy fielding at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.But there will be concern over Rodrigues’ availability for Sunday’s final at the MCG between Heat and Melbourne Renegades. She had to retire hurt after the tenth over of the chase, having aggravated a left wrist injury sustained earlier in the game while attempting to save a boundary during Thunder’s innings. While batting, Rodrigues grew in discomfort at the crease, especially after slamming down on a yorker from seamer Taneale Peschel.After being dropped three times, Rodrigues left the field having made 43 from 30 balls, before Georgia Redmayne took over with an unbeaten half-century as Heat mowed down the 134-run target with 28 balls to spare.After electing to bowl, Heat dominated most of the Challenger final, and were right on top to leave Thunder reeling at 69 for 7 after opting to bowl. Peschel and Hannah Darlington produced a WBBL record eighth-wicket partnership of 64 runs from 36 balls in the lone bright spot for Thunder.

Redmayne, Rodrigues bury Thunder

Having let slip their stranglehold late in Thunder’s innings, Heat were dealt an early blow after opener Grace Harris was stumped in the second over after having charged at left-arm spinner Samantha Bates.Rodrigues made the most of a charmed life after being dropped on 0, 25 and 30. Her inventiveness came to the fore, and she combined well in a 75-run second-wicket partnership with Redmayne, who was imperious on the back foot.But Rodrigues was increasingly in discomfort, before pulling the pin on her innings. Her fitness will be a major talking point ahead of the WBBL final, and also for India’s upcoming ODI series against Australia.Grace Parsons bagged 3 for 10•Getty Images

Thunder rue missed chances

Having finished their innings with the momentum, Thunder’s hopes nosedived with dropped catches. Rodrigues was first dropped on 0 by Anilka Learoyd at backward point off Shabnim Ismail, who, later on, herself spilt a chance at mid-off.Rodrigues’ luck continued when wicketkeeper Tahlia Wilson’s outstretched glove couldn’t stick a tough chance. With that, Thunder’s hopes sank as their season came to a bitter end.

Jonassen in the thick of the action

Rain had fallen in the lead up to the match, and Heat captain Jess Jonassen decided to bowl amid overcast skies. It proved to be the right move, with spin on offer for Charli Knott from the get go. Extra bounce troubled the Thunder batters too.Knott tied down opener Chamari Athapathth as the pressure intensified on in-form Georgia Voll, who has been called up to the Australia ODI team for the first time. She was out to continue her breakout season, and had extra motivation against Heat, her former team.Voll looked dangerous, and scored 20 of the total 25 runs in the powerplay. But on the first ball of the fifth over, she chopped on to a wide delivery from seamer Nicola Hancock.Jonassen had held herself back from the attack until the eighth over, and she timed her entrance perfectly with a first-ball wicket to knock Athapaththu over. Jonassen remained in the thick of the action as she pulled off a terrific catch with her outstreched arms at mid-off to dismiss opposite number Phoebe Litchfield, who, after the drinks break, tried to put the foot down.Legspinner Grace Parsons dominated mid-innings, and Thunder’s collapse was complete when Jonassen dismissed Sammy-Jo Johnson in the 14th over.Jonassen, however, did struggle at the death amid an onslaught, as her figures took a hit. But she has led from the front during Heat’s purple patch in the backend of the season in a welcome tonic for her after the disappointment of not making Australia’s squad for the recent T20 World Cup.Taneale Peschel and Hannah Darlington added an unbeaten 64 to take Thunder to 133•Getty Images

Darlington, Peschel combine for record stand

Thunder’s batting throughout the season has relied on Voll and Litchfield firing in the top order. But they couldn’t make significant contributions in the Challenger against Heat, and Thunder’s middle order completely fell apart, as a succession of batters failed to execute aggressive strokes.They appeared set to be humiliated for a total under 100, but Thunder took the power surge in the 16th over, and Peschel effectively threw the bat. She was soon overtaken by Darlington, who targeted the region down the ground in devastating fashion, as they combined to lift Thunder to an unlikely total. But it ultimately proved not nearly enough.