Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja scored 104 runs from just 59 balls.Reuters

Sydney Thunder thumped Adelaide Strikers by eight wickets in the first semifinal of the Big Bash League (BBL) at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. 

Khwaja (104, 59b, 13x4, 3x6) slammed his second centruy of the BBL 2015-2016 season, and the left-handed Australian remained unbeaten, seeing his team over the line with 14 balls to spare, while chasing a score of 160. 

Usman Khawaja is in a different league at the moment, with the left-hander in sublime form with the willow. Khawaja powered Thunder to their first ever BBL final, where they will face either Melbourne Stars or Perth Scorchers. 

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Kahwaja played a blinder in the first semifinal of the BBL at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. He was striking at a phenomenal rate during the Powerplay overs, and that rate did not slow down once the fielders spread.

Strikers skipper Brad Hodge tried hard to turn the fortunes around, but Khawaja could not be stopped, with the left-hander reaching his hundred with a six over the square-leg boundary. 

Earlier, Strikers struggled in the middle right from the second over, when Shane Watson removed Mahela Jayawardene with a beautiful outswinging delivery. 

Strikers' batting hero in this BBL -- Travis Head -- and captain Hodge also could not make any impact. Alex Ross was the only batsman who showed some character with the bat. Ross ended up scoring 47 runs from 37 balls, while Adil Rashid's late cameo helped Strikers reach 159 at the end of their alotted 20 overs. 

Shane Watson, Clint McKay and Chris Green bowled well to restrict the Adelaide Strikers to a modest total on a wicket that was quite a tricky one to bat on.