Thunder stay bottom of the BBL table, while seventh-placed Renegades see finals hopes all but vanish after tactical gamble backfires

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Sydney Thunder produced a thrilling late surge to defeat Melbourne Renegades, with Chris Green and Nic Maddinson powering a stunning comeback after Renegades made the rare and controversial decision to retire Mohammad Rizwan out.

Rizwan’s difficult debut Big Bash League season continued in his milestone 300th T20 match when he was retired out for 26 off 23 balls at the end of the 18th over. The decision, taken by the Renegades’ coaching staff, failed to deliver the desired impact, with the side adding just 16 more runs thereafter to finish on a modest 170.

Rizwan has struggled throughout the season, averaging 20.14 with a strike rate of exactly 100 across his seven innings. On a seaming Engie Stadium surface, fluency again eluded him, making him only the third player in BBL history to be retired out without injury — following Maddinson himself earlier this season. While the tactic is becoming more common in T20 cricket, it proved costly on this occasion.

Chasing 171, Thunder’s target was revised to 140 from 16 overs following a rain interruption, with the hosts 80 for 3 after 11 overs. The match appeared firmly in Renegades’ control when Thunder collapsed to 95 for 6 in the 13th over. However, Maddinson and Green then unleashed a devastating counterattack, punishing ragged death bowling to haul Thunder over the line with four balls to spare.

Earlier, Renegades had made a brisk start after being sent in, racing to 39 without loss in four overs. Josh Brown continued his impressive season with a fluent 27 off 18 balls, striking two sixes early. Daniel Sams was introduced after the powerplay but failed to stem the momentum, before Wes Agar struck with a superb delivery to bowl Brown.

Jake Fraser-McGurk briefly threatened with a boundary and a towering six, but once again failed to convert his start, edging Agar to a sharp diving catch from Sam Billings. A collapse followed, halted by a 55-run stand between Rizwan and Hassan Khan.

Rizwan finally broke a long six-hitting drought by clearing the ropes in the 14th over, but his inability to accelerate during the power surge prompted the bold call to retire him out. Replacement batter Will Sutherland was then run out off his first ball, compounding the Renegades’ woes.

Thunder’s chase began brightly despite the absence of injured captain David Warner. Recalled opener Sam Konstas made an immediate impact, smashing three boundaries in the opening over and adding another with an audacious ramp shot. His promising knock ended on 18 when he picked out Fraser-McGurk in the deep.

Adam Zampa, returning from a neck strain, struck early by trapping Cameron Bancroft lbw, and after the rain break, Renegades tightened the screws with quick wickets of Billings and Sams. But Maddinson reignited Thunder’s hopes with huge strikes, before Green turned the game decisively, smashing Gurinder Sandhu for three consecutive sixes in a stunning finish.

Despite the victory, Thunder remain anchored to the bottom of the BBL table. For the Renegades, now 3–5 and stuck in seventh place, the defeat leaves their finals aspirations hanging by a thread — and raises further questions about the risks of tactical innovation under pressure.