While chasing a target of 176 runs against the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League 2023 final, Perth Scorchers had a decent start as the openers put on a 32-run partnership. Having scored 21 runs in 19 balls, Stephen Eskinazi was the first wicket to fall for the chasing team in the 5th over.
The batter was run out in the most bizarre manner. On the second ball of the 5th over, Eskinazi tried to hit a length ball but could not time it well and ended up edging it. Max Bryant, stationed at the backward point, was quick to collect the ball and throw it towards the non-striker’s end.
The batter was hesitant at first, but dashed in as he saw his partner run towards the batting end. However, Eskinazi became a little lazy towards the end as he slowed down, and the direct hit meant he was ruled out. Even the commentators felt that he made a very “lazy effort” to get to the crease.
Here is Stephen Eskinazi’s lazy runout
Stephen Eskinazi got lazy in the end…#BBLFinals #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/LfX1mEcWQF
— OneCricket (@OneCricketApp) February 4, 2023
As for the game, the Brisbane Heat set a reasonable target of 176 for the Perth Scorcher to chase down. Thanks to the efforts of Nathan McSweeney (41 runs in 37 balls), and cameos by Sam Heazlett (34 runs in 30 balls) and Max Bryant (31 runs in 14 balls), the Brisbane team managed to get to this total.
For the Scorchers, on the other hand, Jason Behrendorff and Matthew Kelly took two wickets each, while David Payne, Aaron Hardie, and Andrew tye each took one. Most of the bowlers leaked a lot of runs in the first innings, which put them in big trouble.
At the time of writing this article, the Scorchers have managed to score 119 runs and have lost three wickets in 15 overs. Josh Inglis and Ashton Turner in the middle, they now need 57 runs in the last five overs. The Scorchers have a great chance to defend their title this time around.
