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New Zealander Colin Munro has hammered an unbeaten 114 off 73 balls to lift the Perth Scorchers to victory over the Adelaide Strikers.
Star opener Colin Munro says his unbeaten century in the Perth Scorchers' crushing 49-run BBL win over the Adelaide Strikers was one of the best knocks of his career.
Munro was dropped on 11 and 58 - and was also given not out after appearing to edge the ball behind on 72 - before finishing unbeaten on 114 off 73 balls during Saturday night's match at Sydney Showground.
His blistering knock featured eight fours and six sixes, with Munro particularly brutal in the final three overs as the Scorchers peeled off 53 runs on the way to a formidable 1-195.
In reply, the Strikers were bowled out for 146 in 17.5 overs despite a lively knock from opener Matt Short (63 off 47).
Scorchers' pace duo Jason Behrendorff (3-22) and AJ Tye (3-21) played key roles with the ball to help lift the team to their second straight win.
Munro took 48 balls to reach his half-century, and he looked scratchy for most of that time.
But he found his groove shortly after that, striking a series of huge blows to give the Scorchers' total a massive boost.
Munro roared with delight when he made it to triple figures for his maiden BBL century.
"It was a sigh of relief. If you saw the first 30, 40, 50 balls I faced, it was one of those innings," Munro told Fox Sports.
"I don't think I've ever faced a white ball moving that much. It was tough at the start. I probably didn't hit a ball out of the middle of the bat until the sixth or seventh over.
"I told 'V' (coach Adam Voges) at the 10-over mark, 'I promise you I'm trying to kick them (the stumps) over mate, I'm trying to hit one up the chimney, I'm trying to get out'.
"But it's funny how things turn - one or two good shots and you're away."
Munro, who played one Test, 57 ODIs and 65 T20s for NZ, was proud of the way he fought through adversity early in his innings.
"I reckon it's one of my best to be honest," Munro said.
"Sometimes you score a 60 or 30 balls out of the blocks and it's a good innings.
"But when you have to fight like that and really scratch around, it's really pleasing, especially for someone like me who just likes to go out there and smash it from the start.
"I showed a bit more maturity."
Munro should have been out on 11 when he skied a ball to backward point for what was a dolly, only for Rashid Khan to make a mess of it.
The star NZ batsman received another life on 58 when Daniel Worrall dropped a simple chance at mid-on.
Worrall was left stunned a short time later when the umpire gave Munro not out despite the batsman seemingly edging the ball behind.
Munro's bat hit the pitch during the shot, with the sound of that contact possibly masking the edge.
The match, which finished at 12.30am local time, was technically a Scorchers home game and was played without a crowd.
