On this day in 2016: Sydney Thunder win their maiden BBL title

With the onset of T20 cricket in the world, there have been several T20 leagues of respective countries that are watched with utter excitement and delightedness. One of the favourite tournaments out there is the Big Bash League of Australia. The current season is on and is inching towards the playoffs stage.

Let’s go back to 2016 when Sydney Thunder clinched their maiden title in Melbourne. Winning the toss, Thunder chose to invite the opposition Melbourne Stars with the bat first. Under the leadership of David Hussey, Stars posted a decent score of 176 runs on the board. They didn’t kick off too well, but English star Kevin Pietersen batted in a thunderous manner to accelerate their innings.

His 74 off 39 turned out to be the best individual show from their team as they were propelled to 180 runs. A cameo by Luke Wright of 23 runs added some other handful runs in the team as their lower-order collapsed miserably for them. Shane Watson and Chris Green took two wickets each.

When Thunder walked up to chase the score, Usman Khawaja handled most of the work alone. His terrific knock of 70 runs off 40 balls didn’t leave much work for the team to get worried. Jacques Kallis (28 of 27) supported him well as the duo stitched an opening stand of 86 runs to set the tone. By the end of the game, Thunder emerged victorious by three wickets, and Usman Khawaja was named as the player of the match for his sheer heroics on the required time.

That winning moment for the @ThunderBBL! #BBLFinal ???? pic.twitter.com/bBlZ0Zw5XQ

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 24, 2016

Marcus Stonis picked three wickets while Australian spinner Adam Zampa has two to his credit. Thunder lifted their maiden title, and it turned out to be their memorable moment as they kept reeling in the bottom two slots in the first four seasons. The fifth season was also a topsy-turvy ride for them until they bagged the ultimate honour.

It was Michael Hussey’s final game on Australian soil, and he was given the guard of honour by Stars, the proceedings of which were led by his brother David Hussey. Since then, Thunder have a single title only and would be looking up to replicate the same heroics in the current season as they are looking favourites to bag the playoffs berth.