Sydney Thunder end losing streak with victory over Melbourne Renegades

Matthew Gilkes starred with the bat, scoring 74 not out off 55 balls to help Thunder case down 143 with nine balls to spare

Canberra: Melbourne Renegades 142-9, Sydney Thunder 144-2 – Sydney Thunder won by eight wickets

Scorecard

Sydney Thunder ended their three-match losing streak with an eight-wicket win over Melbourne Renegades.

The result moves Thunder up to fourth in the table, level on points with the Renegades, who currently occupy third position, and two points clear of the chasing pack with two games remaining.

Chasing 143, Corey Rocchiccioli picked up two wickets in two balls to remove David Warner and Oliver Davies in the ninth over but an 87-run third-wicket stand between Matthew Gilkes and Alex Ross saw Thunder home with nine balls to spare.

^{Corey Rocchiccioli picked up two wickets on his BBL debut [Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images]}

Ross finished unbeaten on 40 from 32 balls while wicketkeeper Gilkes scored 74 not out off 55 balls, including eight fours and one six, to collect the player of the match honours.

It's worth noting that Fawad Ahmed dropped Gilkes on 29 in the ninth over. Had he taken the catch, Thunder would have lost three wickets in the space of six deliveries.

Earlier, the Renegades had struggled to find any rhythm with the bat, with a 35-run third-wicket stand between Aaron Finch and Martin Guptill one of only three 20-plus run partnerships as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.

Indeed, Will Sutherland, batting at No.7, was the only player to find any joy against Thunder's bowling attack, scoring 42 runs off 23 balls to carry his side to a somewhat competitive total of 142 for 9 at close.

Guptill (30 off 27) and Finch (22 off 23) were the other contributors with the bat while Chris Green (2 for 24) and Usman Qadir (2 for 20) were the pick of the bowlers.