Six and the city: Scorchers claim another title at fortress Perth

Perth Scorchers hosted Sydney Sixers three times at the Optus Stadium this season and each time, comprehensively, emphatically, outclassed the next-best side of the competition to claim an incredible sixth BBL title.

There was a pleasing symmetry to this best of rivalries in the BBL, and to this season too, with even the rain playing willing conspirator to the narrative in the final. Unlike that opening game, there were no reduction in overs even though the umpires decided to keep play on to reach the fifth over in the second innings. Sixers, though, can have no complaints. Perth's irresistible attack knocked them over for 132 and then chased it down at a canter, much to the joy of a heaving crowd of 55,018 – a BBL record at the new Optus Stadium.

Six titles now. The number sits there like an empire. And it is an empire that Scorchers have built in the BBL, something akin to what the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have fashioned in the IPL, or what the Trinbago Knight Riders have managed with their five titles in the CPL. Dynasties, all of them, but Scorchers seem to have gone up a step with this also being their ninth BBL final, and sixth against Sixers.

In this era of T20 analytics, the pattern to their dominance should have been discerned and dissected, and yet they remain impregnable, especially in the way they bowl at their home ground.

The in-form Steve Smith got off to a fast start, striking a pair of fours in the third over, then hitting a four and a six in the next to end the PowerPlay on a high. But Scorchers had their man when they went up for a review in the sixth over after Smith missed a flick and wore it in front of the stumps. The star batter's dismissal for 24 marked a decisive shift in the game, allowing Scorchers to squeeze the middle overs. By the mid-point of the innings, Sixers had only 66 on the board.

David Payne struck with a slower ball to dismiss Josh Philippe straight after the drinks break. Moises Henriques and Lachlan Shaw steadied the ship over the next three overs, hoping to activate the Power Surge after getting their eye in. The Surge though played straight into Perth's hands. Payne struck with a short and wide slower ball, forcing a miscue off Shaw. Another slower one two balls later accounted for Henriques. Before the Surge ended, Jhye Richardson returned to dismiss Jack Edwards off a miscued pull.

Payne appeared to have a fourth wicket when he had Joel Davies caught in the deep, only for the umpires to seek third umpire intervention on the catch, which as it turned out was grounded before the act of completion. Davies was reinstated to loud boos from the ground but didn't last long enough to rub salt into the home crowd's wounds. Richardson had him play on. Mahli Beardman then struck twice in the last over and another batter was dismissed run-out as Sixers folded off the final ball.

The rain hit the Optus Stadium in the interval and ultimately might have played a key role in defining how the second innings started. The extra skid off the surface meant Mitchell Marsh and Finn Allen plundered 41 off the PowerPlay. The opening pair could hit through the line and added 80 in 8.1 overs before Allen's sensational run in the tournament came to an end, courtesy of a spectacular diving catch from Edwards at extra cover.

Batting did get harder once the pitch had dried out. Scorchers lost wickets and their scoring rate dipped, but those opening overs with the bat and the general excellence with the ball ensured they were home and high and dry, soaking in their sixth title, sealed with a six, with six balls to spare.

Brief scores:
Sydney Sixers 132 in 20 overs (Steve Smith 24; David Payne 3-18, Jhye Richardson 3-32) lost to Perth Scorchers 133/4 in 17.3 overs (Mitchell Marsh 44, Finn Allen 36; Sean Abbott 2-19) by 6 wickets.