Sam Konstas bounced back to form with a brilliant half-century in the BBL on Monday, but it was more disaster for Cooper Connolly and the Perth Scorchers. Konstas made 53 off 42 for his second half-century in the BBL as the Sydney Thunder qualified for the finals with a 61-run victory.

The 19-year-old has copped plenty of criticism in recent times, with Aussie legends Allan Border and Ricky Ponting both suggesting he needs to tone down some of his antics. But he had the perfect response to the haters on Monday night with a measured knock that won the game for the Thunder.

After winning just one game last summer, the win sent the Thunder to the top the ladder – albeit level on points with the Hurricanes and Sixers – who each play in the next two days. But it means they are unable to be ousted from the top-four ahead of their final match of the regular season against the Sixers.

“To get into the finals, we’ll obviously be extremely happy about that over the next day or so but we obviously know that there’s some more games out there to win,” said Thunder player Tom Andrews. “Hopefully we can take it later into the tournament and see what happens then.”

Konstas has been accused of being too cocky and immature after a run-in with Jasprit Bumrah in the Test series against India and an ugly dismissal in the last match at the SCG. But he showed immeasurable maturity on Monday night with teammates falling around him.

The Thunder lost David Warner (8) and Matthew Gilkes (8) in the same Lance Morris over and went 60 balls without hitting a boundary. Rather than play a rash shot, Konstas remained patient and eventually broke the shackles on a pitch that proved tricky for batting.

Cooper Connolly in brutal scenes after Test selection

His innings proved the match-winner as the Scorchers were skittled for 97 in the 18th over in response. They threw away a number of wickets, with Sam Fanning brutally run-out by opening partner Finn Allen and young star Connolly also dismissed in the same fashion.

Just days after being called into the Australian Test squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, Connolly was run-out for just 7 by a bizarre throw from Gilkes from the outfield that bounced a number of times before hitting the stumps. Connolly couldn’t believe his luck, shaking his head as he walked off the ground.

RELATED:

The Scorchers lost their last seven eight wickets for just 57 runs, and are set to crash out of contention for the finals for just the third time in 13 years. Their season could be over by the time they face the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday.

“(It’s a) bad result for us, obviously, there’s no hiding behind anything,” said Scorchers spinner Ashton Agar. “We still have to look forward to the next game, that’s just what professionals do.”

Perth Scorchers’ BBL season hanging by a thread

The five-time BBL champions were in the hunt for another post-season berth with three wins from their first five games, but they dropped their next four in a row. The Scorchers must defeat the Strikers on Saturday, hope the Melbourne Stars lose their final regular-season game and need the Brisbane Heat to drop both of theirs.

They also have to rely on the Melbourne Renegades losing to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. But even then the Scorchers have to rely on net-run rate to join the Thunder, Hurricanes and Sixers in the final four.

with AAP