Melbourne Stars beat Melbourne Renegades by 6 wickets and go 3rd on the points table
Melbourne Stars piled more misery on their derby rivals, Melbourne Renegades as Glenn Maxwell and his team emerged victorious by six wickets in the BBL encounter on Sunday. The Stars have now climbed to the third spot on the BBL points table with back-to-back wins.
Melbourne Stars' bowlers set up the win as they pulled things back in the latter half of the first innings. From 78-1 around the halfway stage, the Renegades were bowled out for 150 in 19.5 overs. The Stars then went on to chase the total with five balls to spare.
Brief BBL score: Melbourne Renegades 150 all out in 19.5 overs (Harper 63, Hatcher 3-29). Melbourne Stars 153-4 in 19.1 overs (Stoinis 43, Richardson 2-24). Melbourne Stars won by 6 wickets.
Larkin and Stoinis give Melbourne Stars their 5th BBL win of the season
Andre Fletcher was dismissed for seven as he was caught at cover by Jake Fraser-McGurk. Nick Larkin then joined Marcus Stoinis, and they began their partnership cautiously. The Renegades kept things tight initially as the Stars scored only 42 runs in the first seven overs.
Stoinis went after Peter Hatzoglou as he smashed him for a four and six. But the leg-spinner had the last laugh as he bowled the Australian in the same over. At the ten-over mark, Melbourne Stars were 77-2. The Renegades earned the BBL Boost point as they were two runs ahead at the halfway stage.
Wickets of Nick Larkin (43) and Glenn Maxwell (20) later made the game a little bit interesting. But the Stars always looked in control while chasing. With 34 needed off the last four overs, Nic Maddinson and Hilton Cartwright held their nerve to see their team home.
Melbourne Renegades fail to capitalize on a good start
After winning the toss and batting first, Melbourne Renegades captain Aaron Finch was cleaned up by Glenn Maxwell in the second ball. Sam Harper and an in-form Shaun Marsh then steadied the ship and took the Renegades forward. After six overs they were 46-1.
Shaun Marsh failed to build on a decent start as he was dismissed while attempting a pull shot off the bowling of Billy Stanlake. The Renegades were 79-2 in their first ten overs, and they were on course for a competitive score.
However, Melbourne Stars pulled things back as they kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Mackenzie Harvey threw away his wicket for 29 after looking good.
The Renegades took the BBL Power Surge in the 17th over. The next two overs yielded only 15 runs as Liam Hatcher and Billy Stanlake executed their plans well. The latter also deceived a well-set Sam Harper with a slower-ball bouncer. Harper's dismissal came at the wrong moment as the Renegades needed a set batsman in the last two overs.
The Renegades could manage only eight runs in the final two overs and lost four wickets as they were bowled out for 150 in 19.5 overs. For Melbourne Stars, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, and Zahir Khan kept things tight with the ball.
Also see: BBL 2021 Stats