Will Sutherland and Tom Rogers came to the rescue with blistering knocks as the Melbourne Renegades overcame a devastating top-order collapse to post a four-wicket BBL win over the Perth Scorchers.
The Scorchers slumped to 5-67 and 8-114 in Tuesday's match in front of 31,795 fans at Optus Stadium before Ashton Agar's unbeaten 51 off 30 balls lifted the home side to a defendable 8-147.
Mitch Marsh was out for a golden duck in his first hit-out since being axed from the Test team.
In reply, the Renegades crashed to 4-10 after five overs as their top-order floundered against the class of Jason Behrendorff (2-22), Jhye Richardson (2-28) and Lance Morris (2-21).
Sutherland (70 off 45 balls) combined with Tom Rogers (49no off 31) for a 92-run stand to lift the Renegades back into the contest.
Needing just 12 runs off the final eight balls for victory, Sutherland skied Richardson and was calmly caught by Behrendorff.
It meant Rogers became the key figure with the Renegades still needing 12 runs off the final over.
Rogers was caught first ball off that final over, but Matt Kelly's delivery was deemed a no-ball given the full toss was above waist height.
Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner then juggled Rogers over the rope two balls later in a moment that needed some Glenn Maxwell magic.
With the pressure eased, Rogers finished the job with a boundary to guide the Renegades to victory with two balls to spare.
The result snapped the Renegades' three-match losing run and improved their record to 3-4, equal with the Scorchers.
It also marked the perfect way to bounce back from Saturday's five-wicket loss to the Melbourne Stars, in which Rogers returned figures of 1-37 from 3.4 overs.
"Oh cricket, life, ups and downs," a relieved Rogers said after the win over Perth.
"I was down in the dumps after the Stars game, that was really disappointing.
"So there was a fair bit of motivation to get out here and put on a good performance for the supporters, for our support staff, for a lot of people we let down last game.
"This (win) was an enormous one for us, it keeps us alive."
Marsh wasn't initially set to play against the Renegades, given he had to be on hand as Australia's concussion replacement player for the fifth Test against India at the SCG.
But when Australia wrapped up victory inside three days to seal a famous 3-1 series win, Marsh was given the green light to feature for the Scorchers.
Batting at No.3, Marsh was trapped LBW by Sutherland first ball, following on from Finn Allen's departure for 19.
Cooper Connolly survived the hat-trick ball, but his dismissal a short time later for a duck was followed by Turner (8) and Nick Hobson (12) as the Renegades turned the screws.
Agar, battling sickness, clubbed four sixes and a four to post his first BBL half-century since 2016 and combat an excellent bowling display from good friend Adam Zampa (3-27).
The run chase started off horribly for the Renegades as Behrendorff sent down a double-wicket maiden.
Two balls, two wickets, 2-0 from the first over! 🤯
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 7, 2025
Jason Behrendorff, take a bow 👏 @BKTtires #GoldenMoment #BBL14 pic.twitter.com/HfyWJ7VUHw
The Renegades crawled to 4-17 after seven overs before Sutherland finally cracked his team's first boundary with a six off Kelly.
Sutherland was on 40 and with the score reading 5-75 when Tye dropped a tricky catch on the boundary.
The moment proved to be critical, with Sutherland and Rogers combining for a match-winning partnership to keep the Renegades' finals hopes alive.
