Brisbane Heat beat Melbourne Renegades to move within one win of final

Shaun Marsh scored 82 runs off 53 balls for the Renegades but it wasn't enough to prevent his side from suffering a seven-wicket defeat

Melbourne: Melbourne Renegades 162-5, Brisbane Heat 164-3 – Brisbane Heat won by seven wickets

Scoreboard

Brisbane Heat moved to within one win of the Big Bash final after defeating Melbourne Renegades by seven wickets in the Knockout match.

The Heat will now face Sydney Sixers on Thursday, February 2, with the winner taking on Perth Scorchers in the trophy showdown two days later.

Since January 14, Brisbane Heat have won six matches from a possible seven after previously winning just two from their first nine in BBL12.

^{Shaun Marsh scored a half-century in vain for the Renegades [Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images]}

^{Matt Renshaw's smash and grab 27 sealed the win [Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images]}

Batting first, Shaun Marsh scored an unbeaten half-century at the top of the order for the Renegades, amassing 82 runs from 53 deliveries, but lacked any meaningful support from his teammates with wickets falling at regular intervals.

Sam Harper (22 off 21) and Matt Critchley (23 off 18) were the only other players to pass 20 with the bat as the Renegades closed on 162 for 5.

Xavier Bartlett picked up 3 for 18 with the ball while there were also two wickets for Michael Neser (2 for 33).

In reply, Usman Khawaja and Josh Brown combined for a 75-run first-wicket stand off 53 balls to kickstart their side's chase.

David Moody (1 for 24) accounted for Brown (39 off 27) in the ninth over while Tom Rogers snared Khawaja (59 off 47) and Marnus Labuschagne (23 off 21) in the space of four deliveries in the 16th, but with 34 runs required off 24 balls, the equation remained in the Heat's favour.

Matt Renshaw ensured there would be no further hiccups, blasting 27 runs off 13 balls as part of a 35-run (17 balls) fourth-wicket stand with Sam Hain to see Brisbane Heat over the line with seven balls to spare.