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The Melbourne Renegades are stuck at the foot of the BBL ladder after a fourth-straight defeat, this time an 18-run loss to Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
The Melbourne Renegades are winless from four matches in their BBL title defence after suffering an 18-run defeat to Adelaide.
The reigning champions had looked set for a happy homecoming in their first match at Marvel Stadium since last season's memorable final.
They had restricted the Strikers to 6-155 on Sunday night on a good deck and were motoring steadily midway through their chase.
Captain Aaron Finch reached 50 and became just the second player in BBL history to pass 2000 runs, joining Brisbane's Chris Lynn in reaching the milestone.
But Finch took off for a single too casually and was run out by Rashid Khan, sparking a flurry of wickets.
The Renegades slumped from 2-88 to 5-89 within five balls in the 13th over.
The hosts never looked likely to reach their target from there and finished on 8-137.
"We sort of had it on target with our in batters going pretty well, but it's pretty obvious to everyone that that one over hurt us a lot, losing those three wickets," Renegades coach Michael Klinger said.
"No one means to get out in that situation, but those sort of moments are crucial in these sorts of games."
Right-arm wrist spinner Rashid (2-15, four overs) put the clamps on the Renegades, as seamer Wes Agar (2-20, four overs) dismissed dangerous batsmen Sam Harper (11) and Marcus Harris (seven) cheaply.
Khan would have had a third wicket if not for a bizarre incident with umpire Greg Davidson changing his mind on an LBW decision midway through the process of raising his finger to signal a dismissal.
Instead of following through, Davidson scratched his nose and gave Beau Webster not out.
The incident sent social media into meltdown as Webster finished unbeaten on 37.
Earlier, Strikers opener Phil Salt (54 off 26) threatened to fire the visitors to a massive total.
Welsh-born England batsman, who had a top score of just 14 in three previous BBL appearances, sent seven consecutive balls faced from Richard Gleeson and Harry Gurney to the boundary before belting a huge six over mid-wicket to bring up his half-century.
He was eventually caught-and-bowled by Cameron Boyce (2-18, four overs).
Skipper Alex Carey (41 off 37) was the only other Strikers batsman to go near 50, but some big hitting from Rashid (25 off 16) boosted their total late on.
Jonathan Wells made 20 before being dismissed for the first time in four innings this season.
Former Strikers quick Kane Richardson claimed 4-33 (four overs) against his old side to double his wicket tally for the Renegades this season.
The Strikers are unbeaten in four matches, including a no-result against Sydney Thunder in Canberra.
The Strikers and Thunder meet again on New Year's Eve at Adelaide Oval.
The desperate Renegades host the Sydney Sixers on January 2 at Marvel Stadium.
