The score: Sydney Thunder 6-128 (Green 34; Abbott 2-23, Curran 2-32) lost to the Sydney Sixers (Vince 43*, Hughes 41*) by nine wickets on the Duckworth Lewis Stern method.

The match in a tweet: Sixers surge into second in rain-affected Sydney Smash, leaving the Thunder struck and their finals hopes in tatters #BBL08

The hero: A tricky chase never looked daunting for in-form import James Vince. With rain squalls disrupting the Sixers innings, the Englishman launched into Jonathan Cook for an early six before following it up with a bigger one off Gurinder Sandhu (more on that below). His lusty blows ensured the home side took 25 off the third and fourth overs following a sluggish start, meaning they were well ahead of the game when a shower interrupted play and saw their innings reduced to 13 overs. With DLS calculations going on around him, Vince along with opening partner Daniel Hughes calmly steered the Sixers to victory.

The supporting cast: While Vince broke the back of the chase before the 30-minute rain delay, it was Hughes who upped the ante after it. The left-hander cracked three fours in four balls off Chris Jordan and Fawad Ahmed, sweeping the leg-spinner expertly and making sure the Sixers were always ahead of the DLS par score in case the rain returned.

The consolation act: Chris Green did all he could on a rough night for the Thunder. Promoted to No.5, the right-hander batted cleverly to have his strike-rate at 154.55 despite hitting just three boundaries to help the Thunder cobble together 6-128 from their 20 overs. Green then conceded just two runs from the second over of the Sixers' innings but was overlooked for more attacking options for the rest of the innings as skipper Shane Watson desperately searched for wickets.

The big six: Shane Warne reckoned it went over 100 metres. Fox Cricket's measurement didn't agree, but didn’t Vince make a sweet connection with this one?

The 'review': This one reignited debate over whether the BBL should introduce a Decision Review System. Chris Green had his lucky stars to thank when he was smashed on the back foot by a Tom Curran yorker and was reprieved despite ball-tracking showing he was plumb lbw. Given the rebound went to keeper Josh Philippe on the full and the Sixers appealed, umpire Paul Wilson went upstairs to check if Green had hit it. Replays showed he hadn't and with only the caught-behind decision able to be reviewed, the allrounder was spared before pushing on to top score for the Thunder.

The miss: It didn't cost the Sixers too many, but this was one the hosts would rather forget.

The next stops: It's difficult to see a path into the finals for the Thunder, with their loss to the Sixers all but sealing their fate. They'll need to defeat the ascendant Hobart Hurricanes in their final match next Saturday and hope the Stars lose all three of their last three games. The Sixers meanwhile have secured their spot in the finals and move into second place on the standings. A home final looms should they get over the Stars next Sunday.