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Phew! That was quite a contest, wasn't it? Madness all around and we need to go catch our breaths after that. It was a pleasure bringing to you the coverage of the same here on Sportskeeda and we can't thank you enough for joining us. Of course, do stay tuned to this very platform for further cricketing news and action from around the globe and if you're keen on more cricket, you can head over here to follow our coverage of the Pakistan-New Zealand ODI in Karachi, where the hosts have established a strong foothold on the contest. Until next time though, this is the duo of Mohul Bhowmick and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Toodles!
Nathan Ellis is the Player of the Match for his incredible spell of 2/12. Here's what he has to say: Feels really good. After the last couple of games, the game in Adelaide, we had some time to reflect. We wanted to bowl first. Thankful to get the win. (Reason behind not taking the Surge early?) We had Caleb and Zak going at 8 or 9 without flexing a muscle so we thought we will take a little bit deeper. Obviously in T20 cricket, things can get a little unpredictable like it did tonight. But we'll take the win. We have a few days off to get away and take some time off. In a tournament like this it's important. If we can sneak into the top four or five, we feel we've got the team to beat anyone on the day so that's the focus. (On his captaincy) It's good - it's quite stressful. My overs get a little easier the more you do it. Bowling and taking wickets is obviously a lot easier.
Match summary: Hobart Hurricanes beat Melbourne Stars by 2 wickets.
No way should this have got as close as it did. The Hobart Hurricanes were cruising towards a 15-over finish at the halfway mark with Caleb Jewell steering their ship. But with only two batters registering double digits and the rest inventing new ways to depart against the run of play, it was absolute chaos out there before they somehow managed to hold on.
Chasing a modest 132, Ben McDermott played on but Jewell was in the thick of things again, taking on both spin and seam without a fuss. He has truly hit a bright, purple patch and even as Zak Crawley struggled at the other end, the southpaw was in no mood to stop. He found the fence and cleared it regularly too without anything agricultural and a pristine half-century put the hosts right in front.
What was extremely absurd though was the reluctance of the Hurricanes in taking the Power Surge. They should have gone for it right after the drinks break to bury the chase but instead, kept putting it off for some weird reason. Jewell's departure then brought the game to life out of nowhere with Tim David run out in unfortunate fashion as his bat got stuck into the turf. And then came the Domino Effect...
Crawley put a couple away to the fence but couldn't carry on himself. The rest swung like rusty gates and found ways to depart from the cauldron with the Surge continuing to be pushed back. And just like that, 94/1 became 129/8 as the chase nearly came apart for good. Asif Ali's six eased things but once he departed, it was skipper Nathan Ellis' streaky boundary that saw his side past the finish line.
It was almost as though it was written in the stars that Ellis had to see his side through and have the final say in the contest given how brilliant he was with the ball. He would have had a real scare though, with his batting colleagues making a mess of things. The Stars' campaign now lies in serious jeopardy, however, even as Liam Hatcher let it rip with some thunderbolts today and ended with a three-fer.
An apt finish to a lopsided run chase eh? My word, that was quite mad. But the Hurricanes prevail in the end when they seemed to be finding ways to get into a pickle!
18.0
17.4 Luke Wood to Nathan Ellis, FOUR! At a length outside off, Ellis tries to run it down to third man but gets the faintest of inside edges that go past the vacant short fine leg region for a boundary! What a streaky finish to this game, and it is apt that Nathan Ellis was there to see it through. This was as good a game as any we have seen in the Big Bash League this season! THE HURRICANES WIN THIS GAME BY 2 WICKETS!
Third man is up. A slip in place.
Nathan Ellis, RHB, comes to the crease
Harakiri! Oh this is a mad sport and a mad format, we get it. But this is the absolute peak of it all. The Stars are still in this one as the Hurricanes lose their last recognized batter!
17.3 Luke Wood to Asif Ali, OUT! ALI DEPARTS! GOODNESS, GRACIOUS! Fullish outside off, Ali waits for the ball to come, tries to slog it over the fielder at mid off but ends up hitting it straight down his throat! Ali is disappointed with himself, as will be the supporters of the Hurricanes at the Bellerive tonight. The Stars are back in this game, and how! They need just two wickets to win this game. And the Hurricanes need three runs to win... Asif Ali c Thomas Rogers b Luke Wood 9 (9b, 0x4, 1x6)