Disciplined Sydney Thunder hand Perth Scorchers their first loss of the season

Fifties from Billings and Sangha took Thunder to 200, and Scorchers eventually fell 34 runs short

Sydney Thunder 7 for 200 (Billings 67, Sangha 56*, Kelly 3-30) beat Perth Scorchers 8 for 166 (Munro 64 not out, McAndrew 3-40, Mahmood 2-29) by 34 runs

An Impressive Sydney Thunder inflicted Perth Scorchers’ first defeat of the BBL season with a comfortable 34-run victory in Canberra.

Thunder proved Scorchers were beatable after a dominant all-round performance having set up the victory with a strong 7 for 200 before running through the league leaders’ powerful top-order.

There were no heroics this time from red-hot Mitchell Marsh as Scorchers’ six-game winning streak came to a halt, while Thunder (3-3) made a statement.

Thunder dominate Scorchers’ attack

He hit a beautiful on-drive boundary first ball and quickly changed the game’s momentum with shots all around the wicket. Billings swept the spinners with aplomb and also took a liking to the extra pace of speedster Lance Morris.

Thunder never lost momentum with handy cameos down the order and Jason Sangha the fulcrum throughout. They conjured the toughest task this season by dominating Scorchers’ brilliant attack to post their highest ever score against them and earn a standing ovation from the faithful in the terraces.

Scorchers endure sloppy performance

For the first time this season after winning the bat flip, Scorchers decided to go against their preferred method of batting first. Perhaps the league leaders wanted practice chasing or maybe they knew that seven of the last eight games at Manuka Oval had been won by the team batting second.

Whatever the reasoning, the Scorchers struggled despite quick Matt Kelly starring with menacing late swing to finish with three wickets. With Tymal Mills resting, the returning Kelly made the most of his opportunity but the same could not be said of Morris, who made his season debut as an x-factor replacing spinner Peter Hatzoglou. He struggled to find his top gear of 150 kmh/93 mph and bowled just 1.3 overs.

Scorchers were shorthanded when Andrew Tye bowled two waist high full tosses in the 15th over and he was not allowed to continue having only bowled 1.3 overs.

It highlighted a sloppy performance from Scorchers with the ball and in the field – bad habits which trickled over after a lethargic effort late last game against Melbourne Renegades. Perhaps they are jaded having been confined to the road permanently but the Scorchers clearly didn’t meet their high standards.

Disciplined Thunder throttle Scorchers

Even though they posted a strong total, Thunder knew the job was not complete but quicks Saqib Mahmood and Nathan McAndrew ensured they didn’t need to stress with five wickets between them.

Mahmood bowled with venom to set the tone while McAndrew hustled the batters, including the key wicket of Marsh. His most impressive scalp, however, was Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner who he deceived with a perfectly executed slower ball.

Just when Scorchers were making a bold rally, Mahmood stepped up in the power surge with the wicket of Laurie Evans as the disciplined Thunder once again gained a stranglehold.

With the quicks doing the heavy lifting, Thunder didn’t need to rely on frontline spinner Tanveer Sangha in a performance that should provide them with genuine belief for the second half of the season.

Scorchers misfire in chase

Josh Inglis’ miserable BBL season continued when he was bowled for a golden duck but Scorchers still had hope when Marsh entered the crease and he smoked an early boundary to underline his sublime form.

It didn’t last with Marsh enduring a rare failure when he holed out on 6. In-form Kurtis Patterson, making his return from a hamstring injury, and Turner also fell within seven overs.

Too much was left for Colin Munro who tried gallantly with a half-century to revive Scorchers but to no avail despite some late fireworks from a pumped-up Tye.

Scorchers will rue their off-performance and other teams might sense a blueprint on how to beat them.