Khawaja celebrates after scoring his century

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Usman Khawaja smashed a breathtaking 104 not out to lead the Sydney Thunder to an eight-wicket win over the Adelaide Strikers and into their first-ever Big Bash League (BBL) final.

Strikers captain Brad Hodge would have been mulling over his decision to bat first as Alex Ross was the only batsman to have a major impact with the bat, scoring 47 off 38 balls, which included five boundaries.

With the Strikers losing wickets at regular intervals coupled with the fact only two other batsmen surpassed the 20-run mark, they ended up finishing on 159/7 off their 20 overs.

Clint McKay was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Shane Watson snapped up two and Chris Green and Andre Russell chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Chasing 160 to win, the Thunder got off to an excellent start before losing Watson and skipper Michael Hussey in fairly quick succession.

However, Khawaja and Henry Nicholls finished things off with an unbeaten 73-run partnership, during which Khawaja scored his second century in this edition of the BBL.

Khawaja ended up finishing on 104 off 59 balls, which included 13 boundaries and three sixes, as the Thunder reached their target with 14 balls to spare.

Ben Laughlin and Adil Rashid claimed one wicket each.

Khawaja was named Man of the Match.