A Marcus Harris led Melbourne Renegades have kept their season alive after beating the Adelaide Strikers by six runs at the Adelaide Oval on Monday night.
The Renegades opener slammed 85 from 53 balls to keep the runs ticking over for Melbourne, as the visitors piled on 171 runs despite losing nine wickets in the innings.
Harris and Aaron Finch put on a first-wicket stand of 55 before the skipper was dismissed on 16 after a fantastic catch from Ben Laughlin.
Cameron White and Tom Cooper had short stints at the crease which yielded 10 and 14 runs respectively, but Harris was the star of the show and was taking control of the match.
He smashed six fours and four sixes in his impressive innings, but was caught in the deep on 85 with just four overs remaining.
From then on the Renegades struggled to find continuity with their batsman, as only Callum Ferguson (26 from 16) managed to score double figures from the number five position down.
Melbourne finished with a total of 9/171 in this do or die clash, as the Strikers also needed a win to keep their season alive.
Tim Ludeman and Ben Dunk set off on the right foot, as the opening pair combined for 53 runs before Ludeman was caught in the deep by James Pattinson.
Dunk was the next to go just a few overs later and was bowled by Tom Cooper, as the hosts found themselves at 2/64 and struggling to find the runs to stay with the Renegades.
Jake Weatherald and Kieron Pollard added scores of 11 and 22 to keep the Strikers moving, and when Brad Hodge and Jono Dean linked up with the home side at 5/118 with just four overs left, the job looked just too big for Adelaide.
The pair kept fighting however, and combined for a quickfire 17 before Hodge departed the scene, but the Strikers captain unfortunately left his mark on Peter Nevill.
Hodge played a shot to the leg side and lost his grip on the bat, causing it to slip out of his hands and strike Nevill on the cheek with the handle of the bat.
The Renegades wicketkeeper fell to the floor instantly, and was taken from the field minutes later with a suspected broken jaw and some terrible swelling.
Finch took the gloves but didn't need to use them often, as Thisara Perera took two crucial wickets in the final over to see Melbourne home by six runs.
Zero Wicket's votes
3. Marcus Harris (Renegades)
2. Thisara Perera (Renegades)
- Callum Ferguson (Renegades)
