Man of the match Sherfane Rutherford came to the rescue to help the Sydney Thunder defeat the Perth Scorchers by six wickets in a last-over thriller at Perth Stadium on Friday.
The Scorchers batted first and posted 177-4 from their 20 overs after Thunder skipper David Warner won the toss and chose to field.
New Zealander Finn Allen led the way with a 31-ball 68 including six fours and five sixes while Cooper Connolly made 43*, also off 31 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes in the process.
Off-spinner Chris Green took 3-20 from his four overs for the Thunder.
Chasing 178 to win, the Thunder lost their first wicket with just three runs on the board when Blake Nikitaras fell off the bowling of Lance Morris at the start of the second over.
That wicket brought Matthew Gilkes to the crease to joint Warner and the two put on 91 for the second wicket before Gilkes and Oliver Davies fell for 43 and 3, respectively, to leave the Thunder 101-3 in the 13th over.
The wicket of Warner for 49 in the 14th over brought Rutherford to the crease to join Sam Billings with the score on 113.
17 runs and 11 balls later, Billings fell for 13, making things a bit harder for the Thunder now needing 48 runs from 28 balls with five wickets in hand.
Chris Green, the hero with the ball, came to join Rutherford and the two put on what turned out to be a crucial 22 for the sixth wicket before Green fell for 11 with two balls to go in the 18th over and the Thunder needing 26.
Hugh Weibgen joined Rutherford and hit a crucial six to end the 19th over, meaning the Thunder needed 15 runs off the final over with Rutherford facing the experienced Andrew Tye.
The West Indian got two off the first ball before hitting a boundary off the second, meaning the equation was down to nine need off four deliveries.
A dot ball from Tye then made things even more interesting, with the equation now shifting to nine off three.
Rutherford then regained the upper hand, smashing a ball over the mid-off fielder for four to make it five runs needed off two balls.
The fifth ball saw Rutherford get two leg byes, meaning they needed three of the final ball or two to force a super over.
In the end, no super over was needed as Rutherford hit the final ball for four to secure the win for the Thunder.
He finished 39* off 19 balls while Weibgen finished 9*.
Lance Morris finished with 3-22 from his four overs for the Scorchers.
The Thunder are now second in the points standings with eight points from five games, one point behind their city rivals, the Sydney Sixers. Sportsmax
