Daniel Sams pulls off a heist, destroys Lloyd Pope in 31-run over to steer Sydney Thunder to win

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The 32-year-old Australia National Cricket Team and Sydney Thunder all-rounder Daniel Sams delivered a sensational performance with the bat in the third match of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25.

Daniel Sams switched on his beast mode to destroy the 25-year-old Adelaide Strikers leg-spinner Lloyd Pope and steered his team to an epic win out of nowhere at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Tuesday, December 17.

Also Read: Watch: Unbelievable scenes in Big Cricket League! Batter survives as bails remain intact despite stumps being destroyed

Daniel Sams pulls off a heist to help Sydney Thunder bag a stunning win

Batting first in the match, Adelaide Strikers posted a good total of 182 for 8 on the board. It was a combined batting effort from the Strikers as opener Jake Weatherald (40), Jamie Overton (45), James Bazley (31), and Alex Ross (22) made good contributions with the bat. For Sydney Thunder, Lockie Ferguson and Chris Green bagged 3 wickets each while Tanveer Sangha got two wickets.

Chasing the target, the teenage batting sensation Sam Konstas blasted the fastest fifty in the history for Sydney Thunder and became the youngest player ever to register a half-century in BBL.

After his dismissal for 56, Sam Billings (29) and Oliver Davies (23) made decent contributions, but the match was slipping away from the hands of the David Warner-led side.

Things were looking very tough for Thunder as at the end of the 18th over they were at 149/7 and needed 34 from the last two overs for the win.

Adelaide Strikers brought back Lloyd Pope in the attack, who had the figures of 1/17 after his first three overs. And Daniel Sams decided to target the spinner to make the 19th over a big one.

He smashed two huge back-to-back sixes on the first two balls before the leg-spinner bowled a wide. After that, Daniel Sams slammed a four on extra cover and followed it up with a six over the square leg fence. Then, he smashed two fours over the cover region and straight down the ground to register 31 runs off the over.

In the last over, Sydney Thunder needed 3 runs to win, and despite losing a wicket on the first ball, they crossed the finish line and won by 2 wickets.

Watch: Daniel Sams guides Sydney Thunder to epic win with sensational batting

We’re just being aggressive – Daniel Sams

Speaking after winning the Player of the Match award, Daniel Sams said that they want to deliver aggressive and good performances in the initial half of the competition because that will help them to be in a strong position during the business end of the Big Bash League.

Sams added that he found Llyod Pope the perfect target to attack in the 19th over and went berserk against the spinner. He elaborated:

“We’re just being aggressive (Finishing the match). If we don’t make the most of it, we will catch it up later. And then, as soon as (Poppey) came to bowl on that second last over, it was that kind of the over to take this one down and luckily that went better.

“(Hitting 31 runs) It’s something I have actually worked on a lot. I was just trying to think about the next ball. Like obviously the context of the game, needing to get a lot of runs. I just try to be more focused on that one ball and the next ball. And try not to premeditate too much.”

Also Read: Watch: Sam Konstas rewrites history, becomes youngest to score BBL fifty

Sydney Thunder finished at the bottom of the table in the last season of the Big Bash League, winning just one match, and Daniel Sams said that they are aiming to do well this time around. He elaborated:

“(Winning start) Yeah, we already have the same squad (as in the last season). These are the kind of wins especially early on in the tournament that get you a long way. Being in a position where we probably should have cruised and then we are in a position as that ball it’s going to be tough to win. Getting out of the line is really important, it’s something we weren’t quite able to do last year.

“So we are going to take a lot from this game. (Next Match) It’s always good fun to play against those boys (Sydney Sixers). Personally, we can get on with them.”




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