Big Bash League: Melbourne Stars pull-off a tense three-wicket victory

Luke Wright of the Stars plays a shot during the Big Bash League match between Brisbane Heat and the Melbourne Stars at The Gabba on January 11, 2014 in Brisbane, Australia.

A valuable 37 from Luke Wright and some late hitting from Rob Quiney took the Melbourne stars to a thrilling three-wicket victory over the Brisbane Heat. Melbourne Stars have been invincible in the competition and with this win, they retain the top spot, and virtually qualify for the knock-out stage of the Big Bash League. A splendid bowling performance from Jackson Bird with the new-ball, and Lasith Malinga with the old-ball, helped Melbourne Stars to restrict Brisbane Heat to a moderate 144 runs.

Stars subsequently had hiccups in the chase, but Alister McDermott’s 15-run over changed the course of the game as the Cameron White-led team remained unbeaten in the competition.

Even though the surface at Brisbane is good for batting, a solid start always makes the run-chase easy. White, who looked in sublime form, began the chase with a flick of McDermott for a four. Luke Wright, on the other hand, began his innings with a lovely cover drive off Daniel Christian for a boundary. The duo added 47 runs for the first wicket before Steketee removed White for 17. Hopes shortly removed Luke Wright (37) and Hodge in quick succession, and had Melbourne Stars on the ropes at 82/3.

David Hussey also didn’t last long enough as he was dismissed by Hopes for 16. Melbourne Stars, who started losing wickets at regular intervals, were feeling the heat as the required run rate was more than 7.00 runs per over. Consequently, they played some poor shots and got out to leave the team reeling at 112/5 in 16 overs. At the time, Brisbane Heat bowlers were in control, offering no room for the batsmen to play the strokes. Hopes was frequently shuffling his bowlers which kept the Stars batsmen in control.

But, there was a twist in the match. Rob Quiney and Marcus Stoinis scored 15 runs off McDermott in the 18th over to bring down the equation to 15 runs off 12 balls.

All of a sudden, Stars looked favorites to win the match but Brisbane Heats didn’t make it simple for them in the last couple of overs. The drama was not over as Heat claimed a couple of wickets and had Stars wobbling at 141/7, further needing 4 runs off 4 balls. However, a clean strike from Hastings in the fourth ball off the last over ensured Melbourne Stars dominance continued in the competiton.

The major reason for Stars’ victory is their disciplined bowling performance. Jackson Bird removed the Brisbane Heat top order batsmen and had them wobbling at 53/5. However, Daniel Christian’s partnership with Chris Sabburg helped them to post a reasonable score on the board.