Brisbane Heat hold on in tense finish to jump to third

Brisbane Heat defended superbly at the death to overcome Adelaide Strikers in a gutsy seven-run victory after a knee injury to quick Shaheen Shah Afridi threatened to derail their game. Xavier Bartlett starred with the ball claiming 3 for 26 but it was debutant Thomas Balkin who stepped up magnificently on debut and claimed two wickets in the final over to ensure Heat claimed their second win of the season, climbing to third on the points table.

After being sent in to bat, Heat struggled for momentum in the first half of their innings, slumping to 98 for 5 against a disciplined Strikers attack. Centurion from the last game here that saw 515 runs scored, Jack Wildermuth lasted just four balls after holing out in the second over, while Colin Munro fell to Luke Wood's final delivery of his opening spell. Matt Renshaw provided some fireworks with an aggressive 33 off 21 balls, including two fours and two sixes, before falling to Matthew Short in the ninth over.

Max Bryant then turned the game on its head with a blistering 63 off 32 balls, striking four fours and four sixes. His fifty came off just 29 balls, anchoring a crucial 52-run partnership with Jimmy Peirson that pushed the score to 150 for 6 by the 16th over. Despite late wickets, Heat managed to post 179 for 9, with Hasan Ali finishing with figures of 2 for 36.

Chasing 180, Strikers were pinned down early as Shaheen started well in his opening spell, giving away just seven from his first two overs. Matthew Short broke free with consecutive sixes in the fifth over, racing past a scratchy Chris Lynn, who could never find his rhythm. Lynn's labored 22 off 24 balls ended when he skied a return catch to Xavier Bartlett, who struck twice in quick succession to dismiss Mackenzie Harvey as well.

Short brought up his half-century in risky fashion when he almost fended a return catch to Shaheen, who undid his earlier good work by conceding 19 runs in the 12th over. His subsequent injury meant he finished with 0 for 26 from three overs and was unavailable for the crucial death overs. Jerrssis Wadia threatened to turn the game on its head in the 15th over when he whacked 22 runs off his first four deliveries.

Strikers appeared to be cruising until Short hit Bartlett to long-on, ending his fine 63 off 39 balls. The dismissal triggered a collapse as they lost 4 for 12 in a dramatic shift of momentum. With Strikers needing 10 runs off the final over, the 21-year-old Balkin was handed the responsibility in his debut match. Showing composure beyond his years, he struck immediately and mixed his pace cleverly, dismissing Harry Nielsen on the penultimate ball to trigger scenes of jubilation at the Gabba.

Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 179/9 in 20 overs (Max Bryant 63; Matt Short 2-13) beat Adelaide Strikers 172 in 19.5 overs (Matt Short 63; Xavier Bartlett 3-26) by 7 runs.