Hobart's WBBL finals hopes have been all but snuffed out after a stunning last-gasp loss to Adelaide.
The reigning champions extended their winless run to five matches this season with the four-wicket defeat at a chilly Bellerive Oval on Tuesday night.
Needing four off the last ball to win, Adelaide's Sophie Ecclestone smashed spinner Molly Strano to the boundary over mid-off to break the Hurricanes' hearts.
Hobart can still mathematically finish in the top four but would likely need to win all five of their remaining games to stand any chance.
It was the second last-ball loss in a row for the Hurricanes after a no-ball drama against the Melbourne Renegades.
With the scores tied at 154 last Wednesday, Hobart was denied a super over when wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee caught the ball just in front of the stumps, triggering a no-ball.
On Tuesday night, Hurricanes players were spotted on the sidelines sifting their hands through a small box of sand, an apparent symbolic attempt to draw a line in the sand this season.
Explosive late hitting from Hobart captain Nicola Carey (66no off 53 and 1-30) lifted the home side to a defendable - albeit sub-par - 5-138.
Lee (19 runs off 18 balls) was given a life on 10 but she couldn't make the Strikers pay as Ecclestone (1-37) trapped her in front in the following over.
Rachel Trenaman's tough run with the bat continued with a meek caught-and-bowled dismissal for nine and Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu (10 off 26) was retired out after struggling for timing.
It was the third time a batter has voluntarily ended their innings in the past five days after Perth captain Sophie Devine became the first to do so in league history.
Pocket-rocket Carey (nine fours) rescued the innings with some big-hitting down the stretch, taking her career WBBL run tally past 2000.
Adelaide's Ella Wilson (0-12 off four overs), Megan Schutt (0-24 off four overs) and Tahlia McGrath (0-23 off three overs) finished wicketless but were economical.Â
Openers Maia Bouchier (26 off 19) and Emma de Broughe (41 off 37) got the Strikers off to a fast start.
After that pair departed, Australian vice-captain McGrath (14 off 14) and Maddie Penna (14 off 13) gave away their wickets at key moments to keep Hobart in the hunt.
The visitors looked doomed when Laura Wolvaardt (27 off 27) became the sixth wicket to fall when caught off the fifth-last ball of the match, with 10 runs required.
But Ecclestone found the boundary twice as Adelaide got back to 2-2 for the season.
