Box-office master blaster Chris Lynn has extended his lead atop the BBL run-scoring leaderboard, blasting the Adelaide Strikers to an imposing 4-202 against the Melbourne Renegades at Adelaide Oval.
Lynn was in brutal touch again, crunching an unbeaten 69 off 37 balls, his third successive half-century moving his record this summer to a competition-best 393 runs at 49.13.
Acting Strikers captain Matt Short started the onslaught, continuing where left off from his match-winning maiden ton in last Thursday's record-breaking run chase against the Hobart Hurricanes.
After being sent in, the Strikers savaged 0-47 from the power play, Short responsible for their first 27 runs off the bat.
He and opening partner Ryan Gibson took advantage of a nervy spell from English legspinner Matt Critchley, who conceded 19 from his sole over which started with a slow, high full toss that was dispatched for six.
Conversely, fellow wrist-spinning recruit, Sri Lankan Ruwantha Kellapotha, was impressive in his first game, removing both Short (38) and Gibson (24) and finishing with 2-32.
Adam Hose (33) started slowly before finding top gear when he went after David Moody, whose third over went for 23.
Lynn and fellow offseason recruit Colin de Grandhomme (32 off 16 balls) combined for an enterprising 64-run, fourth-wicket union to put the Strikers back in the box seat after their progress stalled briefly mid-innings.
Renegades paceman Kane Richardson went off for treatment on a suspected side strain injury after his second over before coming back on and copping serious tap.
Richardson was thumped by de Grandhomme for a four-ball sequence of 4, 6, 6, 6 as he conceded 23 in his third over before finishing with the sorry figures of 1-62 after Lynn ripped his bowling apart in the 20th over.
