Matthew Gilkes and Sam Konstas laid the platform with fluent half-centuries before Shadab Khan’s incisive legspin shut the door on Brisbane Heat, as Sydney Thunder registered their first victory of the BBL season.
Set 194 to win, the target looked far less intimidating than Heat’s jaw-dropping chase of 258 against Perth Scorchers just three nights earlier. But this time there was no repeat of the heroics. On a surface offering grip at Manuka Oval, Shadab produced a decisive spell of 4 for 24 from four overs, strangling the chase as Heat fell well short.
Thunder’s 193 for 4 was anchored by a dominant 127-run opening stand between Konstas and Gilkes. Konstas struck a polished 63 from 45 balls, punctuated by elegant off-side strokes, while Gilkes took a more aerial route, top-scoring with a brisk 76 off 48 deliveries.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, under scrutiny after a difficult start to his BBL campaign that included being pulled from the attack for dangerous bowling, showed signs of recovery. Bowling with more control, he produced several trademark full balls and finished with 1 for 35 from his four overs.
Heat’s reply never quite ignited. After the emotional and physical toll of their previous record chase, they appeared flat early on. Jack Wildermuth, fresh from an unbeaten 110, struggled to find rhythm, while Nathan McAndrew tightened the screws with a maiden in the second over.
Shadab struck soon after Colin Munro’s dismissal, deceiving Wildermuth with a wrong’un that crashed into the stumps, leaving Heat wobbling. Matt Renshaw briefly threatened to revive the chase, carrying his sublime form forward with confident strokeplay, including boundaries off Shadab and a towering slog-sweep off Chris Green.
Renshaw advanced to 43, but Shadab had the final say, sneaking another wrong’un past a reverse sweep to hit middle stump. From there, the chase unraveled quickly.
Earlier, Thunder had seized momentum from the outset. Shaheen tested Konstas early with a strong lbw appeal, but after a tidy opening spell he erred short and wide, allowing Konstas to pierce the off-side boundary. Acting captain Xavier Bartlett, filling in for the injured Nathan McSweeney, also suffered as Konstas repeatedly found gaps with precision.
The Thunder openers combined smart placement with sharp running, racing to 37 without loss in the powerplay. Matthew Kuhnemann, brought on to stem the flow, bowled with control but could not stop the steady accumulation. Heat’s frustration grew when Wildermuth dropped Gilkes on 46 at long-off just before the drinks break.
Konstas eventually fell in the 14th over after experimenting successfully with the reverse sweep, but Thunder continued to press. A costly power surge for Heat followed, with Sam Billings launching Shaheen over square leg during an 18-run over as Thunder flirted with the 200 mark.
Late wickets to Shaheen briefly slowed the charge, but the damage was already done. Despite overturning an lbw decision against Gilkes late on, Heat were left chasing a total beyond their reach.
The win lifts Thunder after back-to-back defeats, leaving both sides with one victory and two losses early in the season — and underlining the decisive impact of Shadab’s all-round influence.
