Seifert, Sutherland give Renegades winning start

Tim Seifert whacked the first century of the season as Melbourne Renegades emerged victorious in a batting-friendly contest where Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan endured rough BBL debuts.

Afridi, particularly, had a nightmare and was removed from Heat's attack for dangerous bowling after two waist-high full tosses in the 18th over. Skipper Nathan McSweeney had to bowl the final two balls to complete the over as Afridi finished with the grisly figures of 0 for 43 from 2.4 overs, including three no-balls and two wides.

One day after Babar Azam made just 2 on his BBL debut for Sydney Sixers, Rizwan didn't fare much better with 4 off ten balls. Batting at No. 3 for Renegades, Rizwan holed out to left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley on his first aggressive shot.

While the attention in the lead-up focused on the Pakistan stars, Seifert stole the show and effectively targeted the shorter square boundaries with 102 off 56 balls.

He joined Aaron Finch as the only Renegades player to hit a ton, while Australia Under-19 captain Oliver Peake whacked 57 off 29 as the home team powered to the biggest ever total on this ground.

Chasing a massive target of 213 runs, Heat were never seriously in the hunt despite half-centuries from Colin Munro and Jimmy Peirson, who rallied late with Hugh Weibgen, albeit in vain.

Left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff claimed Jack Wildermuth in his first over with his new team, having been a long-time spearhead at Scorchers. He finished with 2 for 34 from four overs, while Seifert did not take the field after picking up a niggle during his innings.

It was an early boost for Renegades, who capitalised on a sluggish Heat aiming to rebound following their disappointing title defence last season.

There had been much burden on Afridi to carry a short-handed Heat attack. Already without injured left-arm quick Spencer Johnson for the entire season, Heat were missing Michael Neser due to Test duties and left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann with a side strain.

After Heat elected to bowl, Afridi had to wait with Xavier Bartlett getting first use of the new ball and he conjured menacing swing. It was Afridi's turn next and he started promisingly with three dot balls as he concentrated on a hard length.

But Afridi couldn't finish off the over with Seifert whacking a couple of overpitched deliveries, while he also conceded a wide after a wild delivery down the leg side.

Afridi then had a long breather as McSweeney gambled by throwing the ball to Dooley, who crossed over from Hurricanes.

But Dooley struggled to land the right length as Renegades got off to a flier until Josh Brown holed out to Bartlett near the end of the powerplay. It brought Rizwan to the crease and he was welcomed to the BBL by a rampant outswinger from Bartlett that comprehensively beat the bat.

It took until the fifth ball for Rizwan to get off the mark when he knocked a single into the on side and he appeared to be content with giving the strike to Seifert, who superbly mixed power and creativity.

But Rizwan lost patience to Dooley, bringing to the crease Jake Fraser-McGurk amid plenty of spotlight after his major struggles last season. He showed promise with a huge slog sweep off Dooley and then a beautiful cover drive to prove he boasts orthodox shots in his repertoire.

But Fraser-McGurk fell in ungainly fashion, clean bowled by Wildermuth after shuffling too far across his stumps. Seifert and Peake, who was particularly effective over midwicket, combined for a rapid 121-run partnership to rattle Heat.

Having only bowled one over, Afridi returned in the 13th over when Renegades took the power surge and could not hit his lengths to concede 19 runs. Afridi then had a horrid 18th over, where he bowled big full tosses to be forced out of the attack.

Amid the carnage, Seifert brought up his maiden BBL century and celebrated with gusto to lead Renegades to what ultimately proved a match-winning total.