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Run outs, poor shots hamper Peshawar Zalmi as they slump to second loss in three matches

The Report by Danyal Rasool25-Feb-2018Shahid Afridi goes through his trademark celebratory routine•PCB/PSL

In a nutshellKarachi Kings completed a day of low-scoring runs and comfortable chases with a five-wicket win against Peshawar Zalmi to maintain their perfect record in PSL 2018. It was tighter than it needed to be, the chase completed with only two balls to spare. However, the defeat was no less than Peshawar deserved after a feckless first innings in which they were out to poor shots. They were even more indolent with their running: three run-outs meaning they gifted wickets to Karachi who bowled well enough to not require assistance anyway.An ephemeral cameo from Kamran Akmal at the top aside, Peshawar struggled to score at a good enough run rate, with the crease becoming a revolving door for batsmen to waltz in and out of. Dwayne Smith was the only one to chip in with an innings of any note, responsible for 71 of Peshawar’s 131. Karachi’s bowlers – particularly Mohammad Amir early on – were magnificent, setting the tone for the rest of the evening.A late surge had given Peshawar hope of eking out a scrappy win, but Karachi were clinical when they came out. They prioritised keeping wickets in hand, knowing the run rate wasn’t going to be an issue. Joe Denly and Babar Azam kept Karachi on course, before Colin Ingram injected some impetus with a 14-ball 23. A pair of late wickets and good bowling at the death meant Peshawar made it tight, but Imad Wasim’s men were never in real danger of blowing this, with the captain himself smashing the last ball for six to secure victory.Where the match was wonKarachi Kings effectively sewed up the contest with a superb effort in the field. Once Kamran was dismissed in the second over, they kept their foot on Peshawar’s throats. No bowler was a weak link as the run rate remained well below six for nearly the entirety of the first innings. Even though Darren Sammy’s men managed 48 in the last four overs, Karachi’s good work in the first 16 meant the target was still well within the Karachi’s reach.The men that won it
Mohammad Amir sustained an injury which meant he couldn’t bowl any more than two overs. Which was a shame, as he had been majestic in the first two. He swung the ball at pace and extracted every ounce of bounce the surface had to offer. He put an end to Kamran’s barrage at the start, which, if left unchecked, could have taken the game away from Karachi in the first Powerplay, as happened with Islamabad on Saturday. He also accounted for Tamim Iqbal with late swing, thereby setting the tone for an innings that was going to be heavily dominated by the bowlers.Dwayne’s distinctive day
If you hadn’t watched the game, the scorecard would give you the impressions Dwayne Smith was the only Peshawar batsman who had a good day. After all, he scored an unbeaten 71 off 51 in a low-scoring game, accounting for nearly 55% of his side’s runs. But the other side of the coin is he was atrocious with his running and calling, at fault for at least two of the three run-outs that happened while he was at the crease. There is a case that the batsmen dismissed, Ibtisam Shiekh, Darren Sammy and Wahab Riaz may have been able to make useful contributions that made the difference in what ended up being a tight contest. But Smith’s consistency across the three editions of the PSL is unquestionable, and he once again demonstrated his destructiveness with the bat.Where they stand
Karachi are the only side with a perfect record in the PSL so far, and move to the top of the table. Zalmi now have one win from three, and are fourth.

A ball-by-ball breakdown of Dinesh Karthik’s title-winning cameo

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2018.18.1 Rubel Hossain to Karthik, SIX runs, low full toss and DK pummels it over long-on! Comes in, sets himself up, standing outside his crease, and lifts the ball straight over Rubel’s head. This T20 is see-sawing all over the place!18.2 (28 needed off 11) Rubel Hossain to Karthik, FOUR runs, heaves it to the right of long-on! And Colombo goes beserk! DK gets his back leg outside off, sets up a strong base, and slogs the half-volley away to the boundary. Rubel’s yorker goes wrong and India’s hopes rise up18.3 (24 needed off 10) Rubel Hossain to Karthik, SIX runs, and it’s outta here again! DK is in #BossMode. This is the six Mahmudullah hit to bring Bangladesh into the final and now he watches it from the opposition camp as a full delivery on leg stump is heaved over square leg.18.4 (18 needed off 9) Rubel Hossain to Karthik, no run, slower ball outside off, DK looks to cut, but he misses it. Mushfiqur goes for the appeal, but there is plenty of distance between bat and ball18.5 (18 needed off 8) Rubel Hossain to Karthik, 2 runs, comes down the track and hammers the back of a length delivery to long-off18.6 (16 needed off 7) Rubel Hossain to Karthik, FOUR runs, scoops it to the long-leg boundary! What an innings! Rubel is one of Bangladesh’s bankable bowlers because of the pace he generates. But here all of that pace has worked in India’s favour. Like here, with fine leg up, DK brings that shot into play by first moving way down leg to draw the bowler outside off, then gets in position, down on one knee and sends it soaring away into the night sky19.3 (10 needed off 4) Soumya Sarkar to Karthik, 1 run, yorker outside off, DK skews it out to deep point and it’s only a single19.6 (5 needed off 1) Soumya Sarkar to Karthik, SIX runs, flat! hard! AND HE’S CLEARED THE BOUNDARY! INDIA WIN! And the dressing room goes mad! Sarkar is hunched over on the ground! What an innings. DK is lost in the huddle. He has all of his team-mates climbing all over him. He’s floored, after he has floored Soumya Sarkar over the cover boundary with incredible style!

Hardik hasn’t played any professional cricket since the Asia Cup in September, and will be hoping to prove his fitness ahead of the T20Is against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2025Hardik Pandya will appear for Baroda in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), India’s domestic T20 tournament, marking his first appearance in professional cricket since the end of September. National selector Pragyan Ojha is expected to be in attendance for the two games- against Punjab and Gujarat on December 2 and 4, respectively – to assess Hardik’s match fitness.Hardik’s last appearance was for India, at the Asia Cup, during their Super Fours match against Sri Lanka on September 26. He has been out of action since then owing to a left quadricep injury. He arrived at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, in Bengaluru, to begin his rehabilitation on October 15, and after a three-day break for Diwali, he has continued working with them on his fitness during the stretch from October 21 to November 29.He appears for Baroda at the SMAT with the BCCI selectors at the cusp of announcing the squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. ESPNcricinfo understands that the selectors are expected to name a squad for the series in the next couple of days. Hardik’s availability for Baroda, and whether he can appear for any further fixtures, will depend on if and when he is called up to join the India squad for preparation.Baroda lost their opening encounters against Bengal and Puducherry at the SMAT – by six wickets and 17 runs, respectively – but have bounced back to win against Himachal Pradesh.

The KKR coach said that while the team was frustrated after losing five matches in a row, they know they aren’t out of the qualifications race yet

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2019In the aftermath of their fifth consecutive defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, a part of which could be attributed to Andre Russell’s under utilisation with the bat, Kolkata Knight Riders coach Jacques Kallis admitted they could have done things differently, and will consider doing so in the future should the situation call for it.Batting first, Knight Riders had gotten off to a flying start before losing four wickets in a flurry, but it was Rinku Singh who came out to bat in the ninth over at No.6, with Russell only getting a hit when a little more than four overs were left. While Russell had said that a move higher up the order might benefit the team, captain Dinesh Karthik later quashed the suggestion that the allrounder was unhappy with his batting position, asserting that ‘he has a clear role in the team which he’s trying to achieve every time he goes out to bat’.Kallis had a different take on the subject. “Rinku went in in the eighth over and we certainly haven’t sent Andre in that early, in hindsight we could sent him a bit earlier,” he said at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.”It certainly hadn’t been one of our plans but if the situation arises then it’s something we’ll think of. It’s a matter of what the team needs in such a situation and what the captain and management come up with, and we feel where each player is suited to play. But like I said, if a situation arises where Andre or someone else can come up the order, we’ve got to perhaps try one or two things a little differently.”Despite Russell’s devastating form – he has 392 runs at an average of 65.33 and a strike rate of 217.77 – Knight Riders have now slipped to sixth in the points table after the loss against Sunrisers. The team had a four-day break between that game and their next one, against Rajasthan Royals at home, and they’ve used the break to give players some downtime. The aim is to get the team refreshed and ready to turn their season around. During the break, a few players – including captain Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa – travelled to Mumbai to get in some extra practice sessions.”We felt that the guys needed a break. They were given the freedom to do what they want for the next couple of days,” Kallis said. “It has been a disappointing couple of games for us, so we thought that guys can go away and do what they want. They could go home if they wanted to, and some guys felt they wanted to get a little practice which they couldn’t get here, so they went to Mumbai. Our practices here are optional, so it’s just about getting guys refreshed and mentally up for the game.”I think they are frustrated, but I wouldn’t say they are negative,” Kallis said of the mood in the team. “They do realise we’ve still got a chance of qualifying. We’ve just got to play some good cricket. I’ve said all along that in this format, it’s the little percentages you need to improve to turn things around and we’re not far off. We just need to do the little things a little bit better.”Kallis pointed to the team’s inability to take wickets upfront as one of the major reason for the string of losses. On a sluggish surface in Hyderabad, Knight Riders were unable to pose a challenge with the ball, as Sunrisers romped home to their target of 161 with nine wickets and five overs to spare. In the match before that, they conceded 213 against Royal Challengers. Overall, Knight Riders have taken only 35 wickets this season, the least among all teams, coupled with the worst economy rate of 9.04 runs an over.”The frustrating part of this season has been not taking wickets and if you don’t take wickets upfront you are under pressure for the whole innings,” Kallis said.”I think we’ve probably taken 20-21 wickets in ten games, which has put us under a lot of pressure. Yes, your bowling unit is going to be under pressure, you can’t quite be as attacking, you almost have to be defensive when there are wickets in hand. So yeah, the key for us is taking more wickets upfront, and making life a little easier in the middle and end period.”

She last played for India in 2014, and returned to the limelight in the WPL a decade later

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025India left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana has announced her retirement from all forms of the game. She played 50 ODIs and 37 T20Is after making her debut in 2008, and last represented India in April 2014. Thereafter, Sultana came back into the limelight a decade later when she featured in the 2024 and 2025 WPL seasons.”To have represented India at the highest level – in World Cups, tours and battles that tested both skill and spirit – has been the greatest honour of my life,” Sultana wrote in her retirement announcement on Instagram. “Every wicket taken, every dive in the field, every huddle with my teammates has shaped the cricketer and the person I am today.”Sultana finished with 66 ODI wickets at an average of 19.39, the third-best for any India bowler to have taken at least 50 wickets in the format.Related

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Sultana played in two ODI World Cups, in 2009 and 2013, and picked up 12 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 30.58. She also played in three T20 World Cups from 2009 to 2014, and took seven wickets while going at an economy rate of 5.81.Sultana was signed by UP Warriorz (UPW) ahead of WPL 2024. She played two matches in the tournament, going wicketless across five overs. In 2025, Sultana again played two games for UPW, and only got to bowl the one over.”There were times when I thought of quitting – seasons I didn’t do well, my mental health was affected,” Sultana told ESPNcricinfo before her comeback tournament in 2024. “But then even when I was about to give up, I was like, ‘No, this shouldn’t be the end. I want to end it the way I want it.’ It was not to prove anything to anybody, but I enjoyed playing and I still enjoy playing. That’s the primary reason I am still here.”Sultana, 37, is also a BCCI Level 2 coach.

Faf du Plessis admits fast bowler’s early absence recovering from injury is a ‘big loss’

Osman Samiuddin29-May-2019As far as a Plan A goes, South Africa’s is a decent one: put Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi into an attack together, throw in Imran Tahir and sit back. As far as not being able to call upon your Plan A goes, two days out from your first match in a World Cup, against the hosts and favourites is not so decent.South Africa will be without Steyn tomorrow and against the format’s pre-eminent batting order, it is difficult to argue against Faf du Plessis’ assessment that it is “a big loss”. It is perfectly valid to counter that Steyn with the white ball is not quite as inarguably great as Steyn with the red ball. The counter to counter is that in this squad, it means South Africa choose between Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius as replacement. Capable as both are, neither quite fills the X-factor Steyn’s presence provides to the pace attack.”Yeah, it is a big loss to our team,” du Plessis said. “We did expect it when we picked the squad. He wasn’t quite – probably about 60 per cent when the squad was picked; so we anticipated for this to happen.”But yeah, Dale Steyn, a fit Dale Steyn, makes our bowling attack a very, very strong one. So tomorrow will be a little bit of chopping and changing to get a balance that we think can take on England.”Scrambling would not be quite the right way to describe South Africa’s response – they are making a deal out of how not a big deal this tournament is – but it will require a reshuffle of the XI and, more importantly, strategy.Coach Ottis Gibson and du Plessis are not alone around the world in thinking that England’s batting fire must be combated by bowling fire: attack, look to take wickets, they come hard, you go harder. To that purpose Steyn is still important – his strike rate (31.9) puts him at eighth in the all-time list of ODI bowlers with at least 100 wickets and 100 ODIs.”As I said, one of our X-factors, potentially we have is a really, really strong attack in terms of pace. Steyn, Rabada, Ngidi is a real, real threat in English conditions. So that changes. That’s Plan A for the World Cup in terms of our balance, what we’re looking to achieve. Now it’s just a real reshuffle and looking to Plan B and C.”For us as a leadership group, it’s trying to find how can we be most attacking and trying to get wickets. Obviously that was with Dale included but that changed now, so we’ll look at setting up our team to try to make sure we can get guys on the team that can get wickets.”Either Morris or Pretorius is an adequate fit, and they bring some depth to the batting as well. Morris hasn’t played an ODI for South Africa for a year though he is quicker than Pretorius. An outside punt would be Tabraiz Shamsi’s weird and wonderful left-arm wristspin, if for nothing else but the element of surprise and especially if you can recall Kuldeep Yadav’s 6 for 25 at Trent Bridge less than a year ago.But England worked him out pretty quickly and in a very limited sample size of eight innings over the last decade, they go over a run-a-ball against that genre of bowling. One of Morris or Pretorius it will be, neither of whom is Steyn.

Somerset’s young skipper just survived relegation in his first season in charge and his defiance at Taunton suggested he has no wish to repeat the experience

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2018
ScorecardTom Abell produced a captain’s innings to guide Somerset into a strong position on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match with Yorkshire at Taunton.The 24-year-old skipper rescued his team from 24 for 4 in their second innings, making 82 off 137 balls, with 8 fours and a six, as they recovered to 200 all out. Ben Coad claimed 4 for 61 and Jack Brooks 3 for 44.That set Yorkshire a testing target of 321 to win on a pitch still offering assistance to the seamers. By the close of a day interrupted three times by bad light, the visitors had reached 49 for 1, with Adam Lyth unbeaten on 25, and trailed by 271.The day began with Somerset six without loss, leading by 126. They soon plunged into trouble as Coad and Brooks made good use of the new ball to pick up four cheap wickets between them.Coad had Marcus Trescothick caught at second slip and George Bartlett taken by wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd, while Brooks bowled Matt Renshaw and James Hildreth, both driving.With their lead only 144, Somerset needed a partnership. It was supplied by Abell and Steve Davies, who added 66 before Davies, on 33, edged Coad to first slip where Cheteshwar Pujara took the catch.Lewis Gregory got off the mark with a six over midwicket off Brooks and followed up with a four off the next delivery before Matthew Waite had him lbw playing no shot for 14.At lunch the scoreboard read 113 for six and Somerset had extended their advantage to 233. Craig Overton contributed a bright 18 before being bowled by a full, swinging delivery from Brooks to make it 129 for seven.Abell stood firm, playing an innings of sound technique and good judgement to reach his half-century off 103 balls, with 6 fours. Dom Bess (14) shared an important stand of 42 before driving at Waite and edging a catch to second slip.Yorkshire gave Abell two lives, Hodd dropping a touch chance off Coad when the Somerset captain was on 24 and Jack Leaning spilling a more straightforward catch at gully off Tim Bresnan with the batsman on 69.Abell hit a rare six, clipping Waite over backward square as Somerset’s lead passed the 300-mark. Josh Davey made a useful 11 before driving Bresnan to Gary Ballance and the innings ended when Abell was bowled by Coad, aiming a big shot.Yorkshire were 13 without loss when bad light brought an early tea. On the resumption they had doubled that score when Harry Brook, on 15, edged a drive off Davey to Trescothick at second slip.At 44 for one bad light intervened again and, although the players returned briefly while five more runs were added, the umpires soon took them off again. After 25 minutes of consultation, aided by a light meter, they abandoned play for the day.

Essex remain winless after 13-run loss in seesawing contest at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025Jack Taylor’s second fifty in three matches made it three wins in a row for Gloucestershire to spark hopes of retaining the Men’s Vitality Blast.Gloucestershire had begun their defence with five straight defeats but victories over Kent Spitfires, Hampshire Hawks and now Essex have given hope they can sneak back to finals day via the back door.Captain Taylor had dragged his side to a par score of 184 with 50, to go with Ben Charlesworth’s 47 not out, before Josh Shaw’s three for 29 made sure the Eagles fell 13 runs short.The 2019 champions Essex remain winless, with their only points coming from a wash-out. They can now only get a maximum of 22 points with fourth placed Glamorgan already on 20 points.For the third home match in a row, Simon Harmer chose to bowl first but it was Gloucestershire who edged the powerplay.They managed 58 runs, par for the first six overs at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, but lost Miles Hammond just about caught at slip by a juggling Paul Walter and Cam Bancroft attempting back-to-back sixes.But Essex demonstrably won the middle overs by holding the visitors to just four boundaries from the end of the seventh over to the start of the 16th.Darcy Short failing to kick on from reaching 33 and Ollie Price barbequing himself didn’t help their cause, but tight bowling closed off their scoring options.Taylor’s hard running dragged Gloucestershire back into the innings before his hard-hitting got them closer to a defendable score.Firstly, he took Matt Critchley for three fours in an over and then he carted Luc Benkenstein for two huge sixes – one of which smashed a press box window.It helped the Gloucestershire skipper reach his seventh T20 fifty in 34 balls.A wicket in each of the last three overs kept the away side to 184, with Mohammad Amir taking two of them to return three for 33, while Charlesworth’s useful 31-ball cameo left him unbeaten on 47.In the two previous games at Chelmsford, Essex had been set targets of 221 and 220 and it had quickly been apparent the chase would be above them.On this occasion, they stayed in the fight despite losing regular wickets. Michael Pepper and Jordan Cox each went big then got out in the powerplay, while Dean Elgar suffered a tortured nine balls in a half-hour spell in the middle.Paul Walter threatened to be the man to put Essex in complete control with a spritely 39 but he and Benkenstein fell in the same Charlesworth over leaving the hosts needing 82 in eight overs.Critchley and Charlie Allison clubbed 21 and 17 off the 14th and 15th overs, but then Critchley was bowled by Shaw as the momentum swung like a Newton’s cradle.But Harmer clothed to point, Allison holed out, Noah Thain picked on long on, and Amir was run out as the game fell out of Essex’s grasp as Gloucestershire squeezed at the death.

ECB’s director of business operations says board is willing to wait for the right fit for competition

Vithushan Ehantharajah25-Sep-2024Private investment into the Hundred may not be finalised by next year if the right bids and suitors are not found, according to Vikram Banerjee, director of business operations at the England & Wales Cricket Board, and the man tasked with selling off stakes in the Hundred franchises.The ECB announced at the start of September that they had officially opened the process to secure private investment into the eight Hundred teams. Though the initial plan was to have sales ratified ahead of the 2025 edition of the tournament, the process could roll on to find appropriate valuations and owners.Each of the eight hosting counties are set to be given a 51 percent stake, which they can hold or sell, with the remaining 49 percent in each side available to be sold by the ECB. Any money raised from that 49 percent will then be distributed between first-class counties, Marylebone Cricket Club and the recreational game. Financial advisers Deloitte and Raine Group have been recruited to ensure fair market value, with legal co-counsel provided by Latham & Watkins and Onside Law LLP.Though the ECB are collaborating with host venues to assess the suitability of prospective partners, they are doing so with vigilance. A report in City AM on Tuesday stated the governing body have warned Hampshire they will be stripped of their stake in Southern Brave if their prospective new buyers GMR Group – owners of IPL side Delhi Capitals – do not pay a fair market price for the Hundred franchise.The Telegraph reported in August that GMR Group had agreed a £120 million deal to buy Hampshire, which could see them pocket the 51 percent gifted to the county as part of that deal. If that were the case, investors could view purchasing counties outright as a cheaper gateway into the competition, although that would first require a process of demutualisation by the member-owned clubs concerned, with Hampshire and Durham the only exceptions at present.Yorkshire, who host Northern Superchargers at Headingley and are subject to a bid from Sun Group, who own Sunrisers Hyderabad, are currently seeking to undergo a process of demutualisation, with a super-majority of 75 percent in favour required from at least 50 percent of the club’s 6,000 members.The ECB are understood to have had promising conversations with investors throughout the summer. A number from India and from further afield, including the US, were entertained at Hundred matches this season. As well as capital, the ECB want buyers to bring their expertise to the table, particularly around global engagement, sporting operations and in-ground experience.While the plan remains to announce investments into the Hundred in early 2025, Banerjee explained that the onus on finding the right price and partner for the teams lends itself to a longer, more drawn-out process.Lord’s-based London Spirit is expected to be the most lucrative team in the Hundred•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

“The most important thing is we get the right partners,” Banerjee told the Business of Sport podcast. “If that takes a bit of time, that takes a bit of time. I think it’s fine.”We have been running for four years and so, if in this first round, we [find that] either the values aren’t there for one or all of the teams, or the right partner isn’t there for one or all of the teams, it’s fine. We’ll just carry on running it, we’ll do another year. My priority is to get the eight partners and make them amazing and help us grow.”Banerjee did not rule out a partial sale, whereby only some of the teams are under new ownership, though he believes the scale of interest at this stage suggests that will not come to pass.”I don’t think so, at this point of where we are in the process,” he said. “You know, the amount of people, the amount of interest, the breadth of interest – there’s some really exciting names in there, some of which haven’t been leaked to the press, funnily enough.”London Spirit is expected to be the most sought-after component of the Hundred, given the prestige of its host venue Lord’s, but Banerjee insisted the ECB would not be rushed into a decision for any of its teams.Related

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“But if we don’t get the right partners for [eg] London Spirit, we’ll hold it and we’ll work with the MCC for another year and try again in a year’s time. I think that’s possible.”Having said that, in terms of a timeline on what we’re looking for, we are hoping these are done over the next six months, so that whatever this new world looks like for the competition, those deals have transacted by the 2025 season.”Having all investors on board by next summer is integral to ensuring next summer’s competition is as seamless as possible, not least ahead of the opening of ticket sales and the player draft, which are expected in February and March, respectively. Though a partial sale of teams is far from ideal, the competition’s current media rights – which make up around 80 percent of the revenue for the competition – are fixed until 2028, and the presence of a salary cap should in principle ensure a level playing field for the coming seasons.Banerjee also revealed any expansion of the number of teams in the Hundred is only likely to take place in 2029. Durham and Somerset were two host venues mooted for an introduction as early as next year to give the competition a greater presence in the North-East and South-West. However, the need to see how the Hundred evolves after investment has shifted the goalposts.”We’ve talked about 2029 being the earliest to give us time to bed in and see how this thing grows and there’s a whole set of criteria to make sure a) that the player pool is there so it’s still best versus best on men’s and women’s, and b) the competition has grown.”So an investor today doesn’t lose out, but actually benefits from that, as well as the whole game. And then see that, if a venue wants to come in to be a new team, it’s ready.”

Jess Jonassen claimed three wickets as Melbourne Stars’ poor season continued

AAP22-Nov-2024Brisbane Heat secured a WBBL finals spot with a nine-wicket win over the Melbourne Stars in a rain-affected fixture.Heat’s bowlers ripped through Stars’ top-order batters in a match reduced to seven overs a side at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field. Stars made just 46 for 6 after losing their initial four wickets in a three-run span – Heat duo Lucy Hamilton and captain Jess Jonassen took two wickets each in 10 balls.Related

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Heat cruised to 47 for 1 from 5.2 overs – they can’t miss the finals and remain a strong chance of pinching top spot from ladder-leaders Sydney Thunder. They joined Melbourne Renegades on 12 points, one behind Thunder.Renegades play Thunder on Saturday in their last game before the finals while Heat’s last match is against Sydney Sixers on Sunday.After heavy rain delayed the start on Friday night, the last-placed Stars scored 21 for 0 from their initial two overs. But Heat’s 18-year-old quick Hamilton – who destroyed Stars five days ago when taking 5 for 8 – again turned tormentor.She claimed two wickets in three balls and, next over, skipper Jonassen collected two more.Heat were untroubled in their run chase: Grace Harris set the tone by smacking the first three balls of the innings for four. She and sister and Laura Harris put on 34 for the first wicket as Heat cruised to victory.