Perth: Gurinder Sandhu’s four-wicket haul followed by a superb cameo from Oliver Peak led Melbourne Renegades to a commanding four-wicket victory over home team Perth Scorchers in the 26th match of the Big Bash League (PBL) 2025-26 at the Perth Stadium on Wednesday.
Renegades skipper Will Sutherland’s decision to field first paid off as his side’s bowling department managed just 127 for 127 in 19.2 overs.
The Scorchers had a shaky start to their innings after losing opener Finn Allen (eight) and top-order batsman Cooper Connolly (three) inside the batting powerplay.
With the scoreboard reading 23/2 in 4.3 overs, Hardy walked out to bat and joined veteran opener Mitchell Marsh, who held his ground firmly amid the early fumble.
The duo tried to anchor the innings together, but Marsh fell to Hasan Khan in the eighth over to add 26 runs during their third wicket partnership. He was a notable run scorer for the Scorchers with 27 off 25 balls with two sixes.
Hardy, on the other hand, looked after the Scorchers’ innings till the final over, scoring a top score of 44 off 40 balls with 4 fours and a six.
Sandhu led the bowling for the Renegades with economical bowling figures of 4/28 from his four overs. He was supported by Haasan with two wickets and Jason Behrendorff and captain Sutherland with one each.
Chasing a modest 128, the Renegades hit the winning runs when he peaked Hardy off the last delivery for a six, four needed, giving the Renegades a thrilling victory.
The 19-year-old batting all-rounder walked out to bat at No.5 when the Renegades were reeling at 66/3 in 10.3 overs following the dismissal of Pakistan international Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 21 off 25 balls.
The Renegades lost two wickets in quick succession as Jack Fraser-McCurg (eight) and Hassan (one) were dismissed cheaply to be reduced to 72/5 in 12.3 overs.
Following the collapse, Peake joined Sutherland in the middle and the duo put on a vital 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket at a blistering pace.
The stand eventually culminated in the dismissal of Sutherland in the third ball, who scored 15 runs off 18 balls with the help of a six.
But Peake kept his nerves under pressure and showed resilience to lead his team over the line with an unbeaten 42 off 30 balls with 4 fours and a six, earning him the man of the match award.
For the Renegades, Ashton Turner, Jay Richardson, Joel Paris, David Payne and Connolly could each claim a scalp.
The four-wicket win marked Melbourne Renegades’ third in six matches and moved them to sixth in the PPL 2025-26 standings on net run rate, while the Perth Scorchers were second with eight points from a game.