Jordan Silk has declared tight finishes are in the Sydney Sixers' DNA after his half-century propelled the side to a nailbiting one-run BBL win over the Adelaide Strikers.
A day after star allrounder Tom Curran received a four-match ban for umpire intimidation, the Sixers steadied themselves and kept their unbeaten start to the summer alive on Friday before 18,368 fans at the SCG.
The victory came after the Sixers had won their first match of the BBL by eight runs and they clinched their second with four deliveries to spare.
"It's probably become a bit of our DNA, really," Silk said of his side's tight wins.
"We sort of like having these 150, 160 totals. We relish the opportunity to try and defend those."
The Strikers appeared on their way to chasing down the Sixers' modest 7-155 for victory on Friday night when superstar Chris Lynn (37 off 17 balls) got going.
But Moises Henriques (2-11), enjoying a stellar summer with the ball, skittled the T20 superstar and was pick of a bowling attack that kept Adelaide from kicking clear.
The power surge in the 17th and 18th overs looked set to be game-defining as the Strikers required 42 runs from the final 24 balls with short boundaries in sight.
Veteran quick Jackson Bird (2-19) kept the visitors from hitting any boundaries in the first over before Jack Edwards took the big wicket of Matt Short (55), who had been Adelaide's best.
"Jackson Bird deserves a special mention," Silk said.
"Without him, I don't see us winning that game."
Into the allrounders after Short was caught at mid-off by Henriques, the Strikers required 18 runs from the final Ben Dwarshuis over.
They looked on track when towering English quick Jamie Overton (31no) blasted a four and six off the first and third deliveries.
Needing four runs from the final ball, Dwarshuis held his nerve, Overton slapping his full toss to the boundary rope where a fielder was waiting.
Sydney held on and Adelaide finished at 6-154.
"That last ball I didn't really get and if I get a bit more of that, I hit a four or six and we win the game," Overton said.
"It's a game of small margins."
Earlier, Sixers fan favourite Silk (66no) brought up his seventh BBL half-century to help his side recover from slumping to 3-40.
They had been 0-39 at the end of the powerplay, before Overton (3-23) dispatched ofopeners James Vince (10) and Josh Philippe (25) in the same over.
Silk helped reignite the slow-and-steady Sixers with back-to-back fours off Wes Agar's bowling in the 13th over.
On the last delivery of the innings, he smacked Agar for the only six to help the home side post a better score than looked likely when they fell to 5-120 in the 17th over.
