Perth Scorchers 229 for 3 (Marsh 102, Hardie 94*, Ellis 2-44) beat Hobart Hurricanes 189 for 9 (Chaudhary 31, Agar 3-38, Hardie 2-27, Paris 2-36) by 40 runs
Mitchell Marsh blazed the second BBL century of his career while Aaron Hardie delivered with bat and ball to help Perth Scorchers break Hobart Hurricanes' winning run on home turf.
Marsh, Australia's T20I captain, flexed his muscle to smash 102 off 58 balls, hours after the T20 World Cup squad was locked in. Marsh hit 11 fours and five sixes. He shared a 164-run partnership - the highest third-wicket stand in BBL history - with Hardie who also fired with a brutal unbeaten 94 from 43 balls with five sixes.
The signs were ominous for defending champions Hurricanes early. After Scorchers were sent in, Marsh dispatched the first ball of the innings onto the the hill. He was given some lives by Matthew Wade, who grassed a tough diving chance when Marsh was on 18 and couldn't glove a fast-flying edge off the spin of Rehan Ahmed when he was on 36. It was a timely knock for Marsh, who had only scored 25 across his first four BBL games.
"I've actually felt pretty good in the games I missed out in," Marsh told Fox Cricket. "The key thing for me is when you miss out a couple of times is to stick to your routines. I know what works, certainly in this format, for me to be mentally good to go. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous ... you always want to contribute and get going in a tournament."
Hardie went to town in the 12th over when he hit four boundaries and one six off Chris Jordan in an over that went for 26 runs. Hurricanes quick Riley Meredith copped the worst punishment, going for 0 for 61 off four overs while Jordan and Ellis didn't escape the damage.
Hurricanes lost wickets at regular intervals in the chase but Nikhil Chaudhary (31 from 15) and Wade (29 from 14) provided some fireworks at the halfway point. Chaudhary holed out off the spin of Cooper Connolly in the 13th over, before Wade fell shortly afterwards in similar fashion a few deliveries after being bowled off a no-ball.
Ashton Agar (3 for 38) finished with the best figures for Scorchers, while Hardie and Joel Paris both picked up two wickets. The result ended Hurricanes' run of nine wins on home turf and pushed Scorchers to third position on the table midway through their season.
