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The Adelaide Strikers won the title in the sixth edition of the tournament

The Big Bash League (BBL) is the biggest of the two domestic cricket leagues in Australia. The Big Bash League, like most other domestic league-style tournaments, pits each team against each other in a double-round robin format, with the top five teams advancing to the finals series.

The League was launched in 2011, but it has quickly become one of Australia’s most popular sports leagues and one of the world’s most recognized domestic cricket leagues. Since the start of the league, each season has delivered top-tier, action-packed, and competitive cricket matches. This is evident in the fact that six of the eight contesting teams have won the league title at least once in ten seasons of its existence.

In this article, we will speak about the Adelaide Strikers, who on this day in 2018, won their maiden BBL title to create history.

The Adelaide Oval was ready for the ultimate game of the T20 season. The stage was set for the finals of the BBL 2017-18 season. Adelaide Strikers locked horns with the Hobart Hurricanes for final glory. When the two sides met in the finals, one thing was for sure – a new BBL champion was set to be crowned as neither of the two sides had a BBL title to their name.

The first innings was all about Jake Weatherald’s ton that catapulted the Adelaide Strikers’ total over the 200-run mark. In the run chase, all eyes were on D’Arcy Short, who had been the Player of the Season for the Hobart Hurricanes. Short did deliver, but not for long. Earlier in the game, Strikers’ skipper Travis Head won the toss and had opted to bat first. 

After losing Alex Carey cheaply in the innings, Jake Weatherald took the proceedings in his own hands. He smashed his maiden T20 ton. Also, this became the first ever ton in the finals of the BBL history. Weatherald’s onslaught, combined with handy cameos from Travis Head and Colin Ingram helped the Strikers post 202/2 in their 20 overs.

A similar story beckoned for the Hobart Hurricanes. Much like the Strikers, Hurricanes also lost their opener Tim Paine cheaply. D’Arcy Short led the counter attack with a brisk 68 off just 44 deliveries with two fours and as many number of sixes. Also, George Bailey contributed with a handy 46 off 33 balls. But once these two were dismissed, the Hurricanes innings crashed like a pack of cards.

In the end, the Hurricanes could only score 177 runs in their 20 overs. Adelaide Strikers won the match by 25 runs and registered their maiden BBL win.