Khawaja marks BBL return with fluent 78 as Heat knock Thunder out

Brisbane Heat climbed to fifth on the points table with a commanding seven-wicket win over Sydney Thunder at The Gabba. Leading the charge was Usman Khawaja, in his first BBL game of the season and as captain, just two days after retiring from international cricket.

Khawaja's fluent 78 off 48 balls set the tone as Heat chased down 181 with ease, getting there with 22 balls to spare. The loss was Thunder's seventh in eight games, eliminating them from the tournament.

Jack Wildermuth set the tone early for the Heat with a 15-ball 39 that included four fours and three sixes. Khawaja largely played second fiddle until the fourth over, which also saw Wildermuth fall to Daniel Sams.

The Thunder managed a couple of quiet overs after the PowerPlay while dismissing Nathan McSweeney. But the onslaught resumed once Matt Renshaw joined Khawaja at the crease. The two left-handers shared a 93-run stand off just 54 deliveries.

The Heat were on the brink of victory before Khawaja fell to Wes Agar at the end of the 16th over. Their win was sealed by Max Bryant who smacked a six off Daniel Sams in the following over.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, the Thunder openers were kept quiet in the first three overs. They rescued the PowerPlay with three sixes off Xavier Bartlett in the fourth over.

Matthew Gilkes fell immediately after and Cameron Bancroft failed to make an impact. An 84-run stand between David Warner and Sam Billings kept the Thunder on track, with Warner raising his third consecutive fifty-plus score.

Warner showed discomfort after being struck on the knee but continued batting. His availability for the remainder of the tournament remains uncertain after Billings later confirmed he had sustained a quadricep injury.

The partnership ended when Warner was run-out in the 16th over but Billings and Nic Maddinson kept the tempo up with regular boundaries. Despite losing four wickets in the last five overs, the Thunder managed 50 runs to end with 180/6.

Brief Scores: Sydney Thunder 180/6 in 20 overs (David Warner 82; Matt Renshaw 2-29) lost to Brisbane Heat 183/3 in 16.2 overs (Usman Khawaja 78; Chris Green 1-28) by 7 wickets.