ST-W vs SS-W

So, that will be it for today from the North Sydney Oval. Sydney Thunder Women proved too good for the night against their city rivals. Join us again tomorrow for more action from the WBBL for 2023. This is the pair of Pradeep and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Chamari Athapaththu is the Player of the Match! Here's what she has to say: Very happy about my perfomance, and my team performance and special mention to the support staff and I'm enjoying my time here. Sometimes I can't control these things, I just play my game, I focus on it and hopefully I get any chance next year as well. I feel the staff and the players gel together nicely, we talk about positive things all the time and that's why we did well today. We want to focus one game at a time. 

Sydney Thunder Women win by 42 runs! 

Phoebe Litchfield 54* (28) | Chamari Atapattu - 3/20 (4)
Ellyse Perry 31 (16) | Jess Kerr - 2/25 (4)

The Sydney Sixers Women needed to start strong and keep wickets in hand. The beginning was okay in terms of the runs scored but not quite the fall of wickets. 

They lost key players at regular intervals and that did not help when it came to taking the attack to the bowling. Ellyse Perry batted beautifully till the time she was there but then got holed out to deep backward square-leg. Ashleigh Gardner was caught brilliantly at mid-wicket. And Erin Burns, who was the other contributor, could not quite go on and get a fifty. 

Sydney Thunder Women were impressive with the ball. Especially their two experienced overseas off-spinners in Chamari Atapattu and Heather Knight! They took 6 wickets between them and gave away only 47 runs in 8 overs. 

The fielding blew hot and cold for the team in lime green. That is the area they need to work on a bit heading into the next game. As for the team in magenta, they somehow saved the blushes of getting bowled out but will require a big effort to turn the tide after two losses. 

19.6 Lauren Bell to Jade Allen, THAT IS THAT! Thunder open the account of their very first game, but Sixers remain winless after two games. There's an appeal for the direct-hit as Peterson was looking to get back for a second, but was sent back and she just manages to slide her bat in time. Back of a length on the middle and leg, Allen clipped it past mid-wicket. Umpire signals it as NOT OUT!

19.3 Lauren Bell to Kate Peterson, OH! Direct-hit would've been curtains for Sixers. Full toss into the batter, hits high on the bat as Peterson mistimes it down to mid-off, takes off for a tight single as Athapaththu has a shy at the stumps and misses.

19.1 Lauren Bell to Lauren Cheatle, OUT! KNOCKED HER OVER! Full and straight, tailed back in a bit. Cheatle swings across and misses, through the gates and rattles the leg-stump as Bell picks up her first wicket.

Lauren Cheatle b Lauren Bell 7 (8b, 0x4, 0x6)

Last over coming up! The Thunder will be looking to finish it with as few runs from the last six balls as possible. On the flip side, the Sixers would look to get to at least 150 here. 

18.4 Heather Knight to Kate Peterson, FOUR MORE! Peterson is having some fun out there. Charges down the track, smacked it straight over the bowler's head, struck well as it races away to find the ropes.

18.3 Heather Knight to Kate Peterson, FOUR! SHOT! Spots the batter coming down the track, Peterson sits on one knee and swept it nicely to deep backward square-leg, goes one bounce into the ropes for a boundary.