New Delhi: Australia’s Big Bash League, season 13, league stage has finally come to an end, in a rather anticlimactic way, as the final league match between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunders got washed out after the rain refused to go away despite hours of wait.
However, the match was basically a dead rubber as both the teams scheduled to play today were already eliminated and were in the seventh and eighth spot in the eight-team tournament, respectively.
Interestingly, the match does have emotional importance, as it was supposed to be the final game of the Australian legend Aaron Finch in the Big Bash League, but the rain decided to play the spoilsport and took Finch’s last dance opportunity away from him.
The match between the Thunder and Renegades has been abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain. 🌧️ #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/14VPFePtYl
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 17, 2024
The final standings
The league stage games of BBL season 13 saw some close encounters and also saw five games getting washed out.
Notably, the team who stood at the top after all the intense league stage drama was the Brisbane Heat, who finished with 16 points in 10 matches, which includes seven wins, just one loss and two no results, sending them straight to the qualifiers.
All-rounder Status: ✅
Michael Neser’s 64* (30) has got us to 6-191! #BringTheHEAT #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/BxitL5IMCM— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL) January 10, 2024
The team in the second spot are Sydney Sixers, who finished their run with 14 points in 10 matches, which includes six wins, two losses and two no-contests. Sixers registered a win in their last league game against Perth Scorchers to set up a date with Brisbane Heat in the qualifiers.
Cometh the moment, cometh the captain 🫡@SixersBBL #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/2333QtY7rg
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 16, 2024
Perth Scorchers finished third in the points table with 13 points in 10 matches, which includes six wins, three losses and one no-contest. Scorchers suffered a loss in the final league game, forcing them to play the eliminator.
“He’s only just getting started, Laurie Evans!”
Oh, boy. Here we go! #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/p4Ahlf3WV5
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 16, 2024
The fourth and final entrant in the playoffs was the Adelaide Strikers, who won four back-to-back games to qualify after being stuck in last position at one stage. Strikers, who ended up with 11 points in 10 matches, will go up against the Perth Scorchers in the eliminator.
Video evidence of the wild Weather(s) in Hobart last night 🌩 #BBL13 #OurCityOurTeam pic.twitter.com/7RiG7lkg54
— Adelaide Strikers (@StrikersBBL) January 12, 2024
Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne strikers finished fifth and sixth in the points table, respectively, on the basis of net run rate, as both the teams got 8 points in 10 matches, with four wins and six losses.
That has sailed over the long boundary! ⛵
Enormous six from Tim David! #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/Wo0fFxwhSm
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 15, 2024
Melbourne Renegades, with 6 points, finished in the second last spot, while the Sydney Thunders ended up with the wooden spoon after only being able to accumulate 4 points from 10 matches.
How sweet did that sound off the bat! 😍
Hales with the first boundary for the Thunder! #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/WBFYLGYAiK
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 14, 2024
Check out the complete points table below:
| S.no | Teams | M | W | L | NR | PTS | NRR |
| 1 | Brisbane Heat (Q) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | +0.97 |
| 2 | Sydney Sixers (Q) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 | +0.33 |
| 3 | Perth Scorchers (Q) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | +0.72 |
| 4 | Adelaide Strikers (Q) | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | +0.33 |
| 5 | Hobart Hurricanes (E) | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | -0.26 |
| 6 | Melbourne Stars (E) | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | -0.42 |
| 7 | Melbourne Renegades (E) | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | -0.28 |
| 8 | Sydney Thunder (E) | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | -0.65 |
