Perth Scorchers 136 for 7 (Turner 48*, Short 2-11) beat Adelaide Strikers 133 for 7 (Lynn 35, Tye 3-30) by three wickets

Captain Ashton Turner held his nerve to steer Perth Scorchers past league-leaders Adelaide Strikers in a low-scoring thriller at Optus Stadium.

Chasing a modest 134, Scorchers were in disarray at 72 for 6 before Turner and Jhye Richardson combined for a 43-run partnership.

It came down to the decisive 19th over with Turner smashing 16 runs off three deliveries from quick Henry Thornton to effectively ice the match.

Turner superbly rescues Scorchers
Scorchers' new-look batting order has had a mixed bag this season. They smashed their highest ever total with 229 for 7 against Melbourne Stars last time but were brought back to earth against Strikers.

Their batting largely revolves around Faf du Plessis and Josh Inglis, both of whom smashed rapid half-centuries against Stars, but fell amid a disastrous first 10 overs here.

Scorchers' chances appeared slim but Turner never lost his composure and received strong support from Richardson. Turner wisely kept the power surge up his sleeve and finally claimed it in the 19th over with Scorchers needing 19 runs for victory.

Richardson fell first ball in the over before Turner flipped the match on its head with a trio of big blows to whip the home crowd into a frenzy. It was a return to form for Turner whose batting across formats has nosedived in recent years.

Turner, who has played nine ODIs and 18 T20Is for Australia, is highly regarded for his tactical nous and is seen as arguably the best captain in the BBL.

More performances like this could see him return to the national fold, especially with Australia looking for more leadership options in limited-overs cricket.

More to follow