Overton, Wood star in Adelaide Strikers' winning start

Jamie Overton (2-22 & 30) and Luke Wood (3-26 & 18*) put in all-round performances as Adelaide Strikers downed Sydney Sixers in their den to kick-off their BBL 2025-26 campaign with a win. It was an evening where bowlers dictated terms from both sides - Sydney Sixers were restricted to 159/9 and then the chase went on till the very last over. All six of Sixers' bowlers picked at least one wicket each but the Strikers emerged victorious with three wickets to spare.

Sixers lost two early wickets before Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques added 50 off 34 deliveries. But they lost their way in the middle, falling from 94/2 to 100/5 in the space of seven deliveries. Jack Edwards, fresh from an IPL contract earned with Sunrisers Hyderabad, added some lower-order runs that pushed the team past the 150-run mark. Wood finished with 3-26 while Pope bagged 2-25.

Strikers too lost a couple of PowerPlay wickets and then a third in the eighth over but the chase was then built around Liam Scott's essay - a 32-ball 51. Scott added stands with Jason Sangha, Alex Ross and Overton, who scored a crucial 30 off 20 deliveries in a phase when Sixers were pushing to regain momentum.

They dismissed Scott in the 12th over to raise hopes, but Overton hit back with a seventh-wicket alliance worth 31 runs that was pivotal to the fate of the chase. Like Overton, Wood made crucial contributions with the bat too, by seeing the chase through in the company of Hasan Ali.

Brief Scores: Sydney Sixers 159/9 in 20 overs (Josh Philippe 46, Jack Edwards 32; Luke wood 3-26, Jamie Overton 2-22) lost to Adelaide Strikers 160/7 in 19.2 overs (Liam Scott 51, Jamie Overton 30; Jack Edwards 2-27) by 3 wickets