115/10 (16.3)
CR : 6.97
160/5 (20.0)
CR : 8.00
Melbourne Stars Women won by 45 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Meg Lanning
73(58)
Over 17
Melbourne Renegades Women 115/10
Isabelle Wong20(11)
Milly Illingworth1(1)
Maisy Gibson3-17(2.3)
MLSW won by 45 runs
12:33 PM IST, 6:03 PM LOCAL TIME: A derby of dominance. And a win painted in green. So, what does this result tell us? The Melbourne Stars walked in with clarity, executed with precision, and walked out with a 45-run victory. Four wins in the last four matches. Table-toppers now. Confidence? High. Meanwhile, the Melbourne Renegades fought but fell short. The chase of 161 never really ignited, and questions now knock loudly at their dressing-room door. Third place stays. Problems stay. Work remains.
How did the chase actually begin? Well, it wasn’t the worst start, but it wasn’t enough to scare the Stars either. Both openers tried a couple of strokes, tried matching the required rate, and even found the boundary rope. But momentum? Missing. Webb even survived once, but then played straight back to Kapp - caught and bowled. Neat. Next over, Kim Garth struck, removing Naomi. And suddenly, the Renegades were already wobbling, barely into the chase.
Alice Capsey and Dottin tried to dig in. A partnership was forming. The innings had a pulse. But then came the turning point - Danielle Gibson. A double strike in one over. First Dottin, and then the skipper, Georgia Wareham, for a golden duck. The scoreboard read 39/4, and the chase felt heavy. The Stars' bowlers smelled nervousness. They hunted.
Dottin tried. She genuinely tried, hung around, and tried rebuilding with whatever strike rotation she could manufacture. But just when it looked like she would anchor, McKenna delivered the killer blow - removing the set batter. Half the team was gone inside 57 runs, and the chase looked more like survival than pursuit. The Stars were ruthless.
Flintoff and Faltum stitched something resembling a partnership. A bit of stability. A bit of delay in the inevitable. But Garth returned and dismissed Flintoff. Then Sutherland took out Faltum. Then the collapse restarted. Wickets kept falling. Pressure became panic. And the story repeated - intent but no substance.
The Stars' bowlers shared the night. Gibson finished with three. Garth with two. McKenna, Day, and Sutherland chipped in. Wong tried late fireworks, a 20 off 11 cameo, but it only reduced embarrassment, not defeat. The final nail was a run-out, fitting for a match where the Stars controlled energy, skill, and pace. The Renegades bowled decently at the death earlier, but their batting never matched the discipline.
Earlier, the Stars’ first innings? Clinical. Smart. Built properly. After losing Rhys early, Meg Lanning and Amy Jones built a 62-run stand. Jones made 43 and set the rhythm. Then Annabel Sutherland smashed 27 off 16, adding a rapid 70-run partnership with Lanning. Even though Kapp and Gibson fell late, Lanning stayed unbeaten on 73 off 58, anchoring to perfection. Illingworth’s 3-19 and Wareham’s 2-27 helped pull things back, but 160 still felt above par. And tonight proved it was.
How did the chase actually begin? Well, it wasn’t the worst start, but it wasn’t enough to scare the Stars either. Both openers tried a couple of strokes, tried matching the required rate, and even found the boundary rope. But momentum? Missing. Webb even survived once, but then played straight back to Kapp - caught and bowled. Neat. Next over, Kim Garth struck, removing Naomi. And suddenly, the Renegades were already wobbling, barely into the chase.
Alice Capsey and Dottin tried to dig in. A partnership was forming. The innings had a pulse. But then came the turning point - Danielle Gibson. A double strike in one over. First Dottin, and then the skipper, Georgia Wareham, for a golden duck. The scoreboard read 39/4, and the chase felt heavy. The Stars' bowlers smelled nervousness. They hunted.
Dottin tried. She genuinely tried, hung around, and tried rebuilding with whatever strike rotation she could manufacture. But just when it looked like she would anchor, McKenna delivered the killer blow - removing the set batter. Half the team was gone inside 57 runs, and the chase looked more like survival than pursuit. The Stars were ruthless.
Flintoff and Faltum stitched something resembling a partnership. A bit of stability. A bit of delay in the inevitable. But Garth returned and dismissed Flintoff. Then Sutherland took out Faltum. Then the collapse restarted. Wickets kept falling. Pressure became panic. And the story repeated - intent but no substance.
The Stars' bowlers shared the night. Gibson finished with three. Garth with two. McKenna, Day, and Sutherland chipped in. Wong tried late fireworks, a 20 off 11 cameo, but it only reduced embarrassment, not defeat. The final nail was a run-out, fitting for a match where the Stars controlled energy, skill, and pace. The Renegades bowled decently at the death earlier, but their batting never matched the discipline.
Earlier, the Stars’ first innings? Clinical. Smart. Built properly. After losing Rhys early, Meg Lanning and Amy Jones built a 62-run stand. Jones made 43 and set the rhythm. Then Annabel Sutherland smashed 27 off 16, adding a rapid 70-run partnership with Lanning. Even though Kapp and Gibson fell late, Lanning stayed unbeaten on 73 off 58, anchoring to perfection. Illingworth’s 3-19 and Wareham’s 2-27 helped pull things back, but 160 still felt above par. And tonight proved it was.
Player of the Match: Meg Lanning
Meg Lanning (POTM): "No, I didn't feel like it was flowing really well. They bowled well and pegged us back. Took the pace off the ball. We spoke about that as a team, keep ticking and give us a chance towards the backend.
Yeah, it is about thinking smaller than thinking bigger when you are not going, there is a temptation to go big. I thought Jones took the pressure off me in the middle.
It is just about the areas we were targeting. I still wanted to hit the ball but wasn't getting the boundaries, so went for twos and rotating the strike.
They took the pace off nicely, I thought it was mainly around lengths, our bowlers did that well as well. We put ourselves under pressure a bit and had to grind towards the end."
Yeah, it is about thinking smaller than thinking bigger when you are not going, there is a temptation to go big. I thought Jones took the pressure off me in the middle.
It is just about the areas we were targeting. I still wanted to hit the ball but wasn't getting the boundaries, so went for twos and rotating the strike.
They took the pace off nicely, I thought it was mainly around lengths, our bowlers did that well as well. We put ourselves under pressure a bit and had to grind towards the end."
Annabel Sutherland (Melbourne Stars' Skipper): "For me, what really stands out today is how complete that team performance felt. Batting wasn’t easy, and it was the third game on the same wicket, so it was pretty tricky out there. But we stayed calm, valued our wickets, and built a couple of important partnerships when it mattered.
With the ball, I thought we did a great job taking wickets throughout the innings, and that really stopped their momentum and kept us in control. As a group, things are clicking nicely. Everyone’s really clear about their role, and we’re backing our plans. It wasn’t about doing anything flashy - just ticking the scoreboard over and cashing in on the overs where we had an opportunity.
It was a bit of a grind for everyone, but we handled the pressure really well. Because we’ve batted first in every game, communication has been massive. The bowlers got great intel from the batting unit, especially around what lengths were working. Today, that hard length seemed almost impossible to get away from, and the coaching group has been brilliant in making sure we’re clear on those matchups and adjustments.
And in terms of mindset, it’s definitely one game at a time. No point getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll let the staff look after the bigger picture. For us, it’s just about showing up, staying consistent, and keeping this momentum going.
Really proud of the girls in green - great win."
With the ball, I thought we did a great job taking wickets throughout the innings, and that really stopped their momentum and kept us in control. As a group, things are clicking nicely. Everyone’s really clear about their role, and we’re backing our plans. It wasn’t about doing anything flashy - just ticking the scoreboard over and cashing in on the overs where we had an opportunity.
It was a bit of a grind for everyone, but we handled the pressure really well. Because we’ve batted first in every game, communication has been massive. The bowlers got great intel from the batting unit, especially around what lengths were working. Today, that hard length seemed almost impossible to get away from, and the coaching group has been brilliant in making sure we’re clear on those matchups and adjustments.
And in terms of mindset, it’s definitely one game at a time. No point getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll let the staff look after the bigger picture. For us, it’s just about showing up, staying consistent, and keeping this momentum going.
Really proud of the girls in green - great win."
Georgia Wareham (Melbourne Renegades Women Captain): "We missed a little bit everywhere with the ball. Amy Jones batted well at the start of their innings. With the bat, we were unable to build partnerships, especially at the top of the order and it makes chasing a total like today's really tough.
(On batting order) It is so hard in this competition. I think, we are playing the right way in phases. Just not executing well.
Yeah, I think Mill (Milly Illingworth) takes everything in her stride. A big day after the auction (WPL), she did unbelievably and stuck to her strengths.
Look it will be nice and get some warm weather, next two games are going to be massive for us."
(On batting order) It is so hard in this competition. I think, we are playing the right way in phases. Just not executing well.
Yeah, I think Mill (Milly Illingworth) takes everything in her stride. A big day after the auction (WPL), she did unbelievably and stuck to her strengths.
Look it will be nice and get some warm weather, next two games are going to be massive for us."
Biggest Wins for Melbourne Stars Women in WBBL (By Runs)
111 vs Sydney Sixers, North Sydney, 2025
54 against Brisbane Heat, Brisbane, 2016
45 vs Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne, 2025 (TODAY)
111 vs Sydney Sixers, North Sydney, 2025
54 against Brisbane Heat, Brisbane, 2016
45 vs Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne, 2025 (TODAY)
That’s a wrap of this 28th Match. Until then, I am Dev Rajawat, signing off, along with my co-commentators Ajay Pal Singh and Manan Mehta and scorer Dushyant Madhukar Kumar. That’s it from our side. Thanks for joining. But there is one more game lined up in the WBBL today. Switch tabs, follow the fun. Goodbye from this tab! TAKE CARE! BREATHE AND SMILE! CIAO!