BBL 2020-21: Who won in the second game between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars
Brisbane Heat locked horns with the Melbourne Stars at the Manuka Oval in the second clash of the BBL 2020-21. The Stars won the toss and the match as the Heat only managed 125 runs. In response, the Stars cruised home with 17 balls to spare and lost just four wickets.
BBL 2020: Story of the first innings
Openers Max Bryant and Sam Heazlett struggled to get going as Glenn Maxwell and Billy Stanlake bowled tight spells upfront. Clint Hinchliffe provided the first breakthrough after he had Heazlett lbw.
Captain Chris Lynn and Tom Cooper tried to build a platform. Cooper managed two big hits, but he was unable to rotate the strike consistently. Lynn departed when the score was 71 after making a run-a-ball 20.
Cooper too failed to explode in the end, and he got cleaned up by Dilbar Hussain in the 17th over. What followed was a procession of wickets. The Heat huffed and puffed their way towards a below-par score of 125 as they got bowled out in 19.5 overs.
5 Melbourne Stars bowlers had an economy of 7 or less. Nathan Coulter-Nile was the star of the show as he picked up four wickets and conceded just ten runs in his 3.5 overs.
BBL 2020-21: The Melbourne Stars chase
The Brisbane Heat had to bowl and field out of their skins to defend a small total of 125 in the second match of the BBL 2020-21. They give themselves some hope at the start as Xavier Bartlett dismissed Marcus Stoinis for a duck. Andre Fletcher was also sent to the dugout early after Matthew Kuhnemann took the catch off his own bowling to dismiss him for 12. But before getting dismissed, Fletcher hit one of his trademark no-look sixes.
And the BBL 2020 audience loved it!
Lynn and his men kept the runs down initially, and Stars only managed 34 runs in the first six overs.
Left-arm chinaman bowler Jack Wood, making his debut in the BBL 2020-21, struck with his first ball to get rid of Ben Dunk. But that was about it. Glenn Maxwell continued with his blistering form from the India series and scored 46 of 26 deliveries. Wood dismissed Maxwell, but by then the game was as good as over.
Maxwell got good support from Hilton Cartwright who played an anchor role (46 of 42 balls). In the end, the Stars won with ease. Maxwell's men also managed to get the bonus point in the BBL 2020-21 for being ahead of the Brisbane Heat at the halfway stage.