Sydney Thunder 135 for 7 (Davies 36, Gilkes 28, Curran 2-26, Mir 2-26) beat Melbourne Stars 114 (Maxwell 28, McAndrew 5-16, Andrews 2-20) by 21 runs (DLS method)
Legspinner Tanveer Sangha thwarted Glenn Maxwell on a tricky Showground surface and quick Nathan McAndrew claimed five wickets as Sydney Thunder superbly defended a modest total in the BBL elimination final.
Melbourne Stars had high hopes of chasing 136 in 19 overs, but lost regular wickets including Maxwell for 28 off 21 balls. McAndrew started the damage with a brilliant new ball spell and finished with 5 for 16 on a spin-friendly pitch.
The match was reduced to 19 overs per side due to lightning early in Thunder's innings, which led to a brief delay.
Thunder will play crosstown rivals Sydney Sixers at the SCG in Friday's Challenger with the winner to meet Hobart Hurricanes in the final.
It was a disappointment for Stars, who were riding a five-game win streak but their title drought extends by another season.
McAndrew, spinners crush Stars
Thunder were under pressure defending what appeared a below par total. They needed early wickets and McAndrew delivered by dismissing openers Sam Harper and Thomas Rogers.
The match boiled down to how their spinners would fare against Maxwell and Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis. Offspinner Chris Green stepped up and lured Stoinis into a mishit on the legside, where George Garton claimed a brilliant catch diving forward at deep midwicket.
After copping early punishment, Sangha produced the key wicket of Maxwell, who tried to work it to the legside but got a top-edge and the bowler held on with glee.
Sangha was on a hat-trick when he dismissed Tom Curran first ball before McAndrew claimed late wickets to ensure Thunder avoided any late nerves. After leading superbly and making all the right moves in the field, skipper David Warner fittingly took the final catch to trigger jubilation for Thunder's players and fans.
Maxwell shines briefly after top-order collapse
It always felt that the match would be decided one way or another by Maxwell. He was at the crease within five overs after Stars' top-order struggles continued as they crashed to 27 for 3.
In his season debut, as a late replacement for Beau Webster, veteran Peter Handscomb had a tough initiation. Having missed out on the Test tour of Sri Lanka, Handscomb was keen to showcase his prowess at facing spin but never looked comfortable and on 11 he was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Tom Andrews.
In came Maxwell on the back of a purple patch where he almost single-handedly lifted Stars into an unlikely finals berth. While other batters had struggled mightily, Maxwell made it look easy with a hat-trick of boundaries off Andrews.
The first two were trademark reverse sweeps before whacking a boundary through midwicket - where a fielder had just been moved from.
Maxwell then hit Sangha for a monstrous six over deep midwicket to race to 23 off 11 balls. But on this occasion Maxwell couldn't put the cape on and Stars fell apart without their talisman despite some late hitting from Mark Steketee.
Warner falls early, Davies guides them at backend
Warner has been Thunder's rock amid top-order shuffling. After a slow start to the tournament, Warner anchored Thunder's batting superbly to ensure they earned a home final.
But Warner's first BBL final ended quickly when he fell for a second-ball duck after he mistimed Curran to cover.
Matthew Gilkes came to the crease and decided to go for broke in the powerplay, knowing that the surface would wear and become more difficult to bat against spin. He whacked Curran for six over deep square leg and his aggressiveness rubbed off on 20-year-old Hugh Weibgen, who unleashed a boundary off the back foot in his new role as opener.
Gilkes raced to 22 before having good fortune when he hit to cover where Curran caught it low to the turf. But third umpire Michael Graham-Smith gave it not out after replays suggested the ball touched the ground.
Thunder struggled on resumption and were strangled by Stars' spinners in tough batting conditions. Sam Billings had a cameo, but played a risky strategy, and it was left to Ollie Davies to ensure they batted the allocated overs.
Davies top-scored with 36 but frustratingly fell in the 18th over. Thunder did finish off with some momentum after a last ball six from big-hitting Andrews.
Stars spinners relish favourable conditions
Stars' quicks struggled in the powerplay, including veteran quick Steketee who was a revelation in the backend of the regular season to help lift Stars into the finals.
As soon as the powerplay ended, Stoinis had no hesitation in giving the ball to legspinner Usama Mir. He delivered almost immediately with a well flighted delivery that held up in the surface and deceived Weibgen, who spooned a return catch.
It was the fourth time this tournament that Mir claimed a caught and bowled as he continued to spin the ball sharply off the surface. He concentrated almost entirely on legbreaks as an intriguing battle emerged with Billings, who tried to break the stranglehold by reverse sweeping.
Mir had Gilkes holing out to a fired-up Maxwell, who told nearby fans to quieten down as Stars took control in the middle overs. Left-arm spinner Doug Warren, playing just his third match of the season and first since Boxing Day, bowled quick darts at the stumps and was unlucky not to have Billings stumped after a fumble with the gloves from Harper.
He was finally rewarded with the key wicket of Billings in the 12th over as Stars' seamers returned in the backend and focused on taking the pace off the ball to ensure Thunder never flourished at the backend.
