Hobart, Jan 1 (IANS) Hobart Hurricanes won their fourth game in a row beating Sydney Thunder by five wickets in the Twenty20 Big Bash League here Sunday.

Electing to bat, Sydney Thunder were restricted to an under-par 138/8. Chris Gayle smashed another half-century on a day when the rest of the batsmen struggled to get the ball away. Pakistani pacer Naved-ul-Hasan starred with the ball for the home team, taking three wickets for 22 runs.

Travis Birt's blitzkrieg (35) at the top of the order and Owais Shah's (41) steady batting took Hobart past Sydney's score with eight-balls remaining.

The Hurricanes cemented their top position in the table with the win. Sydney, who are second, trail Hobart by four points.

Brief Scores:

Sydney Thunder 138/8 in 20 overs (Chris Gayle 53, Sean Abbott 39; Naved-ul-Hasan 3-22, Jason Krejza 2-29) vs Hobart Hurricanes 139/5 in 18.4 overs (Owais Shah not out 41, Travis Birt 35; Scott Coyte 2-14, Fidel Edwards 2-33)

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