Victoria wins one-day cup final despite Sandhu’s hat-trick heroics
Gurinder Sandhu's remarkable seven-wicket haul, highlighted by a hat-trick, was not enough for Tasmania to prevent Victoria winning the domestic one-day cup final by 110 runs at Junction Oval in Melbourne.
Sandhu claimed career-best figures of 7-56, having taken 4-1 off the last over of the Victorian innings, his tally including a hat-trick with the last three balls.
Victoria was dismissed for 274 but Sandhu's efforts were in vain, as the visitors faltered with the bat to be all out for 164.
Victorian captain Peter Handscomb stressed the need for a more consistent effort from his bowlers before the match and he got his wish.
All six of his bowlers took wickets, with Fawad Ahmed (2-45 from 9.4 overs), Andrew Fekete (2-20 from six), Jackson Coleman (2-27 from eight) and Chris Tremain (2-33 from nine) each claiming two.
Ben McDermott, who scored the second-most runs for the tournament, was the danger man for Tasmania, but Ahmed removed the opener on 34 and wickets fell regularly from that point.
Cameron White top-scored for Victoria with 88, including four fours and four sixes, before he became Sandhu's first scalp when caught behind by Matthew Wade.
After winning the toss, the hosts were cruising at 0-88 but suffered a middle-order collapse, losing 4-23.
Glenn Maxwell was elevated from his usual number five spot to push the run rate along but he departed for 9, with Nic Maddinson bowled for a duck soon after.
The innings was delicately poised at 5-194 in the 39th over but Handscomb, with 49 off 45 balls falling one run short of his fifth half-century in row, and Matt Short (37 off 34) combined to help post a total that proved too much for Tasmania.
It is Victoria's sixth one-day cup victory and its first since the 2010/11 season.
AAP/ABC
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