Overjoyed fans flooded the pitch soon after the winning runs were hit.
The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is seeing several Australian players, usually prioritising the national team, featuring regularly for their respective franchises and putting in top performances. While that might have been due to the rules on banning players pulling out without legitimate reasoning, there are many others who wish they could’ve been picked by a team.
While some of the superstars are proving their value to their teams, others are showing up for their domestic sides in Australia’s top red-ball tournament Sheffield Shield, to achieve glory. Among them is former Delhi Capitals keeper-batter Alex Carey, who guided his side, South Australia, to the Sheffield title after a gap of nearly three decades.
After winning the toss, South Australia asked Queensland to bat first at the Adelaide Oval, which worked to their advantage. Medium pacer Brendan Doggett claimed a sensational 6-31 as Queensland were all out for a paltry 95.
South Australia, in reply, relied mostly on their lower middle-order and the tail to post 271 off which 102 came from Jake Lehmann. The off-spinner Ben Manenti scored 47 and pacer Nathan McAndrew added 39 to the total.
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Queensland, led by Marnus Labuschagne, were better in the second innings as the top-order fired in unison by posting 445. Labuschagne scored a diligent 61 at No.3 while Jack Clayton (100), Jack Wildermuth’s 111, and Mark Steketee’s 51 added more at the end to set South Australia a target of 270.
Immediately, South Australia were in trouble, losing three wickets for just 28 runs. Carey (105) alongside Jason Sangha (126 not out) added 222 to more or less bring an end to the match before things took an interesting turn.
As Carey departed in Steketee’s bowling, South Australia lost two more wickets in the space of 30 runs. But Sangha managed to keep things together and bring up a famous win.
As soon as Sangha took a single to seal the title for the first time since the 1995-96 season, thousands of fans flooded the pitch as they hugged the players on the field while the South Australia dressing room went berserk with joy.
The last time South Australia won, it was also an unfancied team with just Jason Gillespie among the stars of the national team against Western Australia which had the likes of Justin Langer, Tom Moody, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, and Brad Hogg.
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