Sydney Thunder 7 for 172 (Gilkes 93, Agar 3-26, Siddle 3-36) beat Adelaide Strikers 144 (Nielsen 39, Hasnain 3-20) by 28 runs
Pakistan sensation Mohammad Hasnain wasted no time making an impact on his Sydney Thunder debut, becoming the first bowler in BBL history to take three wickets in their first over in the competition.
He took wickets with his second, third and fifth balls, completing a triple-wicket maiden to steer his side to a 28-run win against Adelaide Strikers.
Hasnain finished with 3 for 20 after Thunder had earlier taken control of the game batting first via Matthew Gilkes' classy 93 helping them make 7 for 172.
Hasnain had Matthew Short caught on the boundary, trapped Jake Weatherald lbw with his next, while a sharp Ben Cutting catch earned his third scalp with Jonathon Wells out for a duck, to leave the Strikers 3 for 25 after just three overs of their chase.
Having pushed on to 3 for 50 with Matt Renshaw looking steady, Henry Hunt - making his T20 debut - danced down the pitch to Jason Sangha and was stumped. And Sangha struck again in his next over with Renshaw picking out deep midwicket, falling for 30 and leaving Strikers 5 for 65.
But Strikers slowly worked their way into the chase with Harry Nielsen and Thomas Kelly adding 45 before a stunning direct-hit throw from Gilkes had the latter run out for 19 with the Strikers 6 for 110. Nielsen top-scored for the Thunder with 39 but the Strikers never threatened to reach their target, eventually rolled for 144.
Gilkes, dropped second ball by Rashid Khan, batted all bar one ball of Thunder's innings in making 93 from 57 balls, a knock that included nine fours and three sixes.
Cutting - again opening the batting with Alex Hales, Alex Ross, Sam Whiteman and Tanveer Sangha all self-isolating - looked in great touch and lofted Fawad Ahmed back over his head for another six but fell in the next over trying to do the same thing to Wes Agar and he was caught for 34 to leave the Thunder 1 for 64.
The in-form Jason Sangha, fresh from an unbeaten 91 on New Year's Eve, went cheaply soon after as Rashid began working his magic with the ball.
At 2 for 73 after 10 overs, Thunder were looking to get on their way but Sam Billings chipped one to long-on for just 11. But Gilkes took 17 off an Fawad over soon after and he brought his half-century up with a six as Ollie Davies helped out with 14 before Peter Siddle trapped him lbw.
Gilkes continued to thrive, taking three consecutive fours off Rashid and had a century in his sights after clearing the boundary off Agar before but holing out to deep midwicket. The win moved Thunder to third on the BBL table, while Strikers are seventh after just one win.
Thunder captain Chris Green said the side's young players had stepped up in the absence of their more experienced teammates who have been sidelined after contracting Covid-19.
"They've actually gained a lot of experience since last year and the year before ... Matt Gilkes, Jason Sangha, Ollie Davies in particular," Green told Seven. "Those guys have really come to the party when they've got their opportunity so really proud of their efforts."
