Brisbane Heat successfully chased down Sydney Thunder’s under-par total of 8-158 with five balls to spare, led by Man of the Match [[Sam Heazlett] who scored 74no from 49 balls in the pursuit.
He was ably supported by wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson (43no from 24), who combined with him in the final eight overs for a decisive unbeaten 92-run stand.
Earlier, Mark Steketee and Mitch Swepson both took two wickets to restrict the Thunder who were boosted by a stellar late cameo from Ben Cutting who smashed 34no from 18 balls.
The win means the Heat will face the Perth Scorchers in the preliminary final for a spot in Saturday’s Final against the Sydney Sixers, to be played at the SCG.
Thursday’s match was meant to be played in Perth but the Scorchers lost a major advantage on Sunday after the WA Government introduced a lockdown in Perth, forcing the game inter-state.
The Challenger will be played in Canberra instead, with the Scorchers having remained in the nation’s capital following their loss to the Sixers at Manuka Oval on Saturday.
The Scorchers had boasted a 4-0 record in Perth during the regular season and looked unbeatable, backed by 30,000 fans on their home deck at Optus Stadium.
The Heat have been buoyed by the addition of Marnus Labuschagne after the Australia-India Test duty, with the batsman proving a revelation with both bat and ball, taking 10 wickets in five games and scoring 161 runs as they’ve launched a four-game winning streak.