Perth Scorchers have ensured their finals hopes will go down to the wire and they will sweat on the final game of the Big Bash season to determine their fate after a five-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers.

In the aftermath of Jake Fraser-McGurk’s heroics to get Melbourne Renegades over the line and, in the process, resuscitate the Scorchers’ flagging post-season hopes, Perth upheld their end of the bargain to extend their season — if only for a day.

Needing to chase down Adelaide’s tally of 161 within 18 overs to obtain the required run-rate needed to leapfrog the Renegades in fourth, Perth eventually hauled themselves over the line with 22 balls to spare as Cooper Connolly played a starring role.

The Scorchers now need Hobart Hurricanes — already guaranteed top spot on the ladder — to do them the most generous of favours and beat Melbourne Stars on Sunday.

If the Hurricanes-Stars result falls their way, the Scorchers will have young guns Connolly and Mahli Beardman to thank for helping deliver the jaws of life against Adelaide.

Connolly again led the way with the bat to finish with an unbeaten 39 (21), while Beardman took 3-17 in just his second Big Bash match and played a pivotal role in stopping the Strikers’ fast start.

“It’s not the season we would have liked, but to be sitting fourth at the moment, and depending on results, we could be playing finals,” Connolly said post-game.

“It’s nice to sitting in the top four, and it puts pressure on the Stars now.

“To be honest, I thought we were going to be chasing 220, so to pull it back nicely was what we needed.”

Connolly will miss the Scorchers’ finals campaign as he prepares to link up with the Australian Test squad for their tour of Sri Lanka.

“It’s always nice to contribute to some team success. I’m rooting for the boys to be playing finals and hoping they go all the way, and I believe in this team,” he said.

“It’s probably going to sit pretty strangely with me for the next couple of days, but I just hope that if the boys get the opportunity, they make the most of it.”

Perth’s chances of an unlikely finals berth looked grim early as Adelaide openers Matthew Short (40) and Alex Carey (22) went to work, but a middle overs fightback from Perth’s bowling brigade stemmed the tide.

Having reached 81 off just six overs, Adelaide managed just one boundary off the ensuing five overs and only added 80 to their total following their initial flurry.

Despite Liam Scott’s admirable 67 (43), teenage tearaway Beardman’s spell along with supporting stints from Connolly (1-15) and Ashton Agar (1-19) steadied the Scorchers.

A complex equation suddenly became more simple, with the hosts needing to chase down the total with effectively two less overs than usual to leapfrog Melbourne and move back into the top four.

It imbued every Scorchers fan with a hope and Sam Fanning got the run-chase off to a quick start, with the Scorchers reaching 1-42 after four overs.

But Adelaide – themselves needing to limit Perth to 146 to keep their own finals hopes alive - wrestled back control and stymied their opponents’ momentum.

And disaster struck when Fanning was run-out for 29 (20) after finding himself halfway down the pitch in a mix-up, before Aaron Hardie was stumped on 28 (17) as Perth’s top-order crumpled, their finals flame flickering like a candle in the wind.

Effectively needing 60 off six overs, the Scorchers used their ‘power surge’ and despite Ashton Turner falling, an error-strewn 17-run over ceded by Jordan Buckingham made the total look manageable.

Eventually, it was the man of the moment in Connolly who saw his side home, wielding the willow like the finest of samurai blades to bring his side within sight of the total.

And with the total no longer a speck on the horizon, Connolly seized the moment, ending the match with back-to-back sixes.