Joel Davies, Hayden Kerr help Sixers clinch low-scoring thriller

Joel Davies and Hayden Kerr helped Sydney Sixers clinch a low-scoring thriller against Brisbane Heat on Monday (January 5). Heat, who were on the verge of completing a unique double - the highest successful run chase and the lowest target defended in BBL history in the same season - couldn't break the eighth wicket partnership despite reducing Sixers to 56/7 in a chase of 114. Davies and Kerr then stemmed the flow of wickets to turn the game around before getting the Sixers over the finish line in the penultimate over.

Defending just 114, the Heat were up against it with dew already being present by the time the chase commenced. However, Babar Azam and Josh Philippe departed off successive deliveries to give Heat plenty of confidence. Xavier Bartlett was the next to strike as he got rid of Daniel Hughes to put some pressure on the batting side. But the real worry came around the halfway mark when Matthew Kuhnemann gave Heat two wickets in two balls yet again which was then followed by the departure of Henriques. From 47/3, Sixers found themselves reeling at 56/7 with the game appearing to be done and dusted at that stage.

However, with the dew now having a larger say, Davies and Kerr were able to withstand the pressure. Davies provided the release with a six and a four in an over from Jack Wildermuth. Matt Renshaw's off spin dragged the game further as the two batters were content rotating the strike with the asking rate not being high. Leaving the power surge right until the end, the two batters got the job done in excellent fashion when they needed 12 off 12. While Davies smashed one through extra cover for a boundary, Kerr finished the game with a six over deep midwicket.

Both Kerr and Davies also had a role to play with the ball earlier in the evening. On a two-paced surface where the ball was stopping, Heat struggled to get going. Even though Wildermuth hammered two successive sixes, Jack Edwars came back strong by dismissing his opening partner in the same over. Wildermuth then lost his stumps to a ball staying low off Sean Abbott before Kerr opened his account with the wicket of Renshaw.

Max Bryant, Heat's hero in their previous encounter where they chased down a big total in thrilling fashion to end Melbourne Stars' unbeaten run, couldn't make an impression this time. Losing half their side for just 50, Heat had little hope heading into the second half of their innings. Hugh Weigben added some vital runs but Davies broke through twice in an over to dent Heat further and reduce them to 74/8. Even though they lost their ninth wicket with 23 balls left, the last-wicket pair managed to add 25 crucial runs and batted out the rest of the innings to drag their side to 114 - an effort that almost proved to be good enough.

Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 114/9 in 20 overs (Jack Wildermuth 31; Joel Davies 2/19, Sean Abbott 2/25) lost to Sydney Sixers 118/7 in 18.4 overs (Joel Davies 35*, Hayden Kerr 27*; Matthew Kuhnemann 2/14) by 3 wickets