Tremain (1-21) took one of just five wickets the Renegades snared as the Strikers piled on 5-173 at Etihad Stadium, man-of-the-match Ingram accounting for 68 of them from just 36 balls.

Travis Head also belted a quick-fire half-ton, making 58 from 47 before being bowled by West Indian Kieron Pollard (1-20).

The Renegades, bolstered by an 18-ball, unbeaten 30 from Brad Hodge at the end, managed 7-147 in reply.

Thanks to the defeat – their fourth – and a tough draw to finish the regular competition, the ‘Gades are now in danger of missing the finals despite having possibly the most powerful team on paper.

They’ve all fired at some point, but even with the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Cameron White, Kane Richardson, Hodge, Tim Ludeman, Mohammed Nabi and Jack Wildermuth leading the charge the Renegades have struggled for any real consistency.

Tremain and his Renegades are faced with with tough, must-win trips to Canberra and Brisbane to play the fifth-placed Sydney Thunder and sixth-placed Heat, respectively, before the play-offs.

The three sides are actually equal on competition points, but Melbourne’s net run rate is better and it also has a game in hand.

With Melbourne on the road, there’s no denying the danger both the Thunder and Heat pose to Tremain’s ‘Gades.

After Tremain clean bowled Jake Weatherald  in the third over, Adelaide wicketkeeper-batsmen Alex Carey (32 from 24) and Head settled into their work, adding 48 for the second wicket.

But when Marcus Harris caught Carey from the bowling of Jack Wildermuth (1-29), Head and Ingram came together.

They pushed the score to 147 before the former was dismissed in the 19th over, and Ingram promptly went ballistic. 

Before Ingram was dismissed with one ball remaining in the innings, he and Jonathon Wells (5 not out) smashed 26 from seven balls to catapult the Strikers to 173.

In reply, Ludeman (14) and Harris (25) made inroads early but couldn’t capitalise on their starts. 

Once they were both dismissed, the ‘Gades sat precariously at 2-51 from nine overs – well behind the required rate.

Although Tom Cooper (24), Cameron White (17), Pollard (14) and Hodge also made starts, they simply couldn't keep up with the required run rate, and fell well short.

The highlight of the Renegades’ innings actually came via two of the Strikers’ fielders, Ben Laughlin and Weatherald produced what is arguably one of cricket’s greatest catches of all-time to dismiss Bravo.

A leaping Laughlin snared a stunning catch on the boundary but lost his balance and looked likely to fall over the rope. 

Instead, he produced an outrageous, 30-metre flick that Weatherald latched onto, a catch that in itself was a great one.

"Benny did most of the work, he did the hard yards in taking the [first] catch," Weatherald said.

"Then he took a few more steps and was going over the boundary line and luckily I was somewhere in the vicinity.

"I was a long way away, it was pretty amazing that he got it anywhere near me, it was pretty awesome.”

Although disappointed with the loss, White said the ‘Gades have the benefit of still being able to control their own destiny.

“We didn’t play very well [on Monday], but at least our [finals hopes] are still in our own hands,” White said.

“We could’ve batted a bit better (but) execution, whether it’s bat or ball, is the probably the most important thing in Twenty20 and Adelaide did that better than us.

“We’ll have to find something for the last couple (of games).”

Adelaide, the competition leaders, wrapped up a home semi-final with the win and will face second-placed Perth in its last game before the finals.