Sydney: West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin starred with bat and ball, leading Adelaide Strikers to their maiden WBBL title with a hard-fought 10-run win over Sydney Sixers in the final at North Sydney Oval, here on Saturday.
Dottin hit an unbeaten 52 off 37 balls to carry Strikers to 148/7 before taking the key wickets of Suzie Bates and Ashleigh Gardneras Sixers were bowled out for 138 on the final ball of the innings.
Chasing a modest total, Sixers’ batters never got going. The power-packed lineup saw early exits of Suzie Bates (10), Alyssa Healy (1), Gardner (0) and Erin Burns (1) as Aussie pacer Darcie Brown (2-15) combined with Dottin (2-30) to leave the Sixers top-order in tatters at 16-4 after 5.5 overs.
Ellyse Perry (33) was joined by Nicole Bolton (32) and the pair steadied the innings, taking the Sixers to 43/4 at the midway mark of the innings, still, 105 runs shy of their target. Bolton showed her class in her final professional match, finding the boundary three times in a 60-run stand with her skipper before McGrath rattled her stumps in the 14th over.
The Sixers’ hopes rested on Perry, playing at her favourite venue, with the required rate edging over 12 an over. She found the boundary off Brown’s next over, but when she got bowled a ball later, it was left to the Sixers’ tail to pull off a miracle, with 66 runs still needed off 31 balls.
Maitlan Brown cleared the rope in her return from a back injury, but her highly entertaining 34 off 16, while lifting the spirits of the home crowd, was not enough as wickets kept tumbling at the other end and Sixers were eventually bowled out for 137 in 20 overs.
Earlier, Strikers’ openers Katie Mack (31 off 26) and Laura Wolvaardt (15 off 16) put on 51 in the first six overs before Kate Peterson continued her knack of taking a big wicket, with the South African caught at gully chasing a wider delivery.
Mack finished an over later in unusual circumstances, stepping on her own stumps and moving back to the spin of Sophie Ecclestone (2-19).
Dottin was handed a life on one when Nicole Bolton put down a difficult chance at backward point, and then was twice caught off no balls on five and eight; the first off Peterson was signalled immediately, the second off Perry came after a third umpire review, with the Sixers’ celebrations abruptly cut short.
McGrath dispatched the second free hit into the hill for six, but her promising start ended on 24 off 21 when she was caught trying to clear the mid-on boundary, giving Nicole Bolton a wicket in her final game.
The Power Surge was comprehensively won by the Sixers, who removed the heroes from Thursday’s Challenger final, Patterson (7) and Penna (0) and leaked just seven runs. But Dottin upped the ante to add 34 runs from the final three overs, including a massive six into the hill and brought up her half-century with a scoop off the final ball of the innings.
Brief scores: Adelaide Strikers 147/5 in 20 overs (Deandra Dottin 52 not out, Sophie Ecclestone 2-19) beat Sydney Sixers 137 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 33, Darcie Brown 2-15) by 10 runs
–IANS
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