CRICKET POLL

Chris Lynn (88 off 51) put on a power-hitting masterclass on a tricky surface to help Adelaide Strikers to a five-wicket win over Melbourne Renegades at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. The result broke a stretch of three successive losses for the Strikers.

Chasing 142 on a two-paced surface with variable bounce, Lynn's powerhouse performance was key as the other Strikers batters all struggled to get going. The veteran's knock eclipsed another fine innings, Josh Brown's 41-ball 66 that was the cornerstone of Renegades' innings. However, like it was in the chase, it was all about one batter in the first innings as well.

Expectations were for the pitch to play better, as the stadium had shifted from indoor mode to the regular cricketing venue with the flexible roof being disabled. Ironically, the pitch only seemed to get tougher even as Brown belted the Strikers bowlers around. He was particularly severe on spin although it also brought about his downfall eventually. Lloyd Pope copped a lot of stick and to an extent, so did his spin partner Cameron Boyce but the latter struck the big blow of Brown to trigger an implosion.

At 87/2 in the 12th over, Renegades were eyeing a score of 165-170, which would have been gargantuan on this deck. Strikers duly fought back and once Brown fell, only 42 runs were added off the remaining 38 deliveries, an appalling downfall given that there were two Power Surge overs available as well. Henry Thornton (3-22) was the pick of the bowlers along with Boyce (1-26) and Jamie Overton (2-30).

It was evident from the start of the chase that the visitors would go hard at the bowlers. On such a pitch, the Renegades' bowlers also stood a chance to pick up early wickets. Unfortunately for the home side, it was Lynn's night as he overcame a largely streaky start to pummel the bowling around. D'Arcy Short (27 off 20) played second fiddle in the opening stand of 104 that all but sealed the deal for the Strikers. 104/0 became 116/3 in no time but the wickets came too late in the match for the Renegades.

Brief scores: Melbourne Renegades 142/8 in 20 overs (Josh Brown 66; Henry Thornton 3-22) lost to Adelaide Strikers 143/5 in 17.1 overs (Chris Lynn 88; Adam Zampa 2-29) by five wickets