132/1 (14.0)
CR : 9.43
128/10 (20.0)
CR : 6.40
Melbourne Stars won by 9 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Haris Rauf
3/29
13.4
4
T Sangha to G Maxwell
FOUR MORE! BLAZED! Full and down the leg side. Maxwell changes his stance again and reverse-sweeps it to the right of sweeper cover for another boundary.
Maxwell continues to score at a sprightly pace. This has been sparkling knock thus far.
13.5
0
T Sangha to G Maxwell
Short and around off. Maxwell opens his stance and tries to pull but gets an inside edge onto his front pad.
13.6
6
T Sangha to G Maxwell
SIX! DONE AND DUSTED! MAXWELL FINISHES IT OFF IN STYLE! THE MELBOURNE STARS HAVE DEFEATED SYDNEY THUNDER BY 9 WICKETS WITH 36 BALLS TO SPARE!! A bit shorter and around off. Maxwell clears his front leg away and pumps it straight downtown over the bowler's head for a biggie to seal the deal. IT IS AN EMPATHIC WIN FOR THE STARS!!!
Over 14
Melbourne Stars 132/1
Glenn Maxwell39(20)
Sam Harper29(27)
Tanveer Sangha0-27(2.0)
MLS won by 9 wickets
4:34 PM IST, 10:04 PM local time: Mebourne Stars have galloped past the finish line with 6 complete overs to spare. They beat Sydney Thunder 9 wickets and continue their undefeated run in the tournament.
This felt like a race between a raging speedster with an aerodynamic design plus nitro boosters and an old, broken down car that stuttered at every mile of the way.
Thunder's start was not bad. Put into bat they garnered 23 runs off the first couple of overs with Matthew Gilkes hitting a couple of a imposing maximums. But that and later a spectacular catch that Gilkes took to dismiss Joe Clarke were the only two bright spots on what was otherwise a rough evening for David Warner and co.
Credit must go to Star's bowling unit. Barring Maxwell, who only bowled the first over and conceded a dozen, every one who rolled his arm over found success. None more than Haris Rauf, who picked 3/29 in his 4 overs. Unlike usual, he delivered plenty of mildly paced balls today that made the 140-kph-plus deliveries even more effective. Billings, Gilkes and Green were his preys. 41 year old Peter Siddle pretty much matched Rauf's on-pace deliveries and finished with an impressive 1/22. Leg spinner Mitchell Swepson bowled with courage, slowing the ball up in the air every now and then and raked up 2/18, while all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Tom Curran picked up two wickets each as well.
But it was Joe Clarke who hogged the limelight. After injuring a finger while attempting a catch in the first innings, he came out like a raging bull with willow in his hand. 8 cracking fours and a sumptuous inside-out drive for six over wide long-off made his half-century an enthralling one to watch. Sam Harper, with an unbeaten 27-ball-29 was the perfect foil and held the other end. Then, to top it all off was a Glenn Maxwell blitzkrieg. With a 20-ball-39*, the "Big show" entertained the Canberra crowd while taking his team home.
This felt like a race between a raging speedster with an aerodynamic design plus nitro boosters and an old, broken down car that stuttered at every mile of the way.
Thunder's start was not bad. Put into bat they garnered 23 runs off the first couple of overs with Matthew Gilkes hitting a couple of a imposing maximums. But that and later a spectacular catch that Gilkes took to dismiss Joe Clarke were the only two bright spots on what was otherwise a rough evening for David Warner and co.
Credit must go to Star's bowling unit. Barring Maxwell, who only bowled the first over and conceded a dozen, every one who rolled his arm over found success. None more than Haris Rauf, who picked 3/29 in his 4 overs. Unlike usual, he delivered plenty of mildly paced balls today that made the 140-kph-plus deliveries even more effective. Billings, Gilkes and Green were his preys. 41 year old Peter Siddle pretty much matched Rauf's on-pace deliveries and finished with an impressive 1/22. Leg spinner Mitchell Swepson bowled with courage, slowing the ball up in the air every now and then and raked up 2/18, while all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Tom Curran picked up two wickets each as well.
But it was Joe Clarke who hogged the limelight. After injuring a finger while attempting a catch in the first innings, he came out like a raging bull with willow in his hand. 8 cracking fours and a sumptuous inside-out drive for six over wide long-off made his half-century an enthralling one to watch. Sam Harper, with an unbeaten 27-ball-29 was the perfect foil and held the other end. Then, to top it all off was a Glenn Maxwell blitzkrieg. With a 20-ball-39*, the "Big show" entertained the Canberra crowd while taking his team home.
Haris Rauf (Player of the Match): “Thank you so much. I always love playing big games, and I’ve played a lot of cricket here. I basically grew up as a cricketer in Australia, so I really enjoy playing in these conditions.
It was a super team effort tonight. Five different bowlers took wickets, and to bowl a side out for 128 shows how well everyone contributed. As bowlers, it’s very important to understand the conditions, but communication is the key.
We keep talking to each other, passing messages on all the time. Marcus Stoinis has been outstanding. He has a very sharp cricketing mind, and I always listen to him. It makes things easier for me. The skipper is also doing a wonderful job leading the group. Inside the dressing room, all the boys are very happy.
Winning four games in a row gives a lot of confidence. We’re gelling really well as a team and genuinely enjoying every moment out on the field. That’s very important in a long tournament.
And yes, it’s very cold out here! Thanks to God, we won the toss and bowled first. Really happy with the performance tonight.”
It was a super team effort tonight. Five different bowlers took wickets, and to bowl a side out for 128 shows how well everyone contributed. As bowlers, it’s very important to understand the conditions, but communication is the key.
We keep talking to each other, passing messages on all the time. Marcus Stoinis has been outstanding. He has a very sharp cricketing mind, and I always listen to him. It makes things easier for me. The skipper is also doing a wonderful job leading the group. Inside the dressing room, all the boys are very happy.
Winning four games in a row gives a lot of confidence. We’re gelling really well as a team and genuinely enjoying every moment out on the field. That’s very important in a long tournament.
And yes, it’s very cold out here! Thanks to God, we won the toss and bowled first. Really happy with the performance tonight.”
Who can stop Marcus Stoinis' Melbourne Stars? Perhaps, that should be the tag line of this season of the Big Bash League. They now have four wins in four matches, an excellent net run rate and are sitting pretty at the apex spot on the points table.
Meanwhile, Thunder have slipped to the 7th spot. They will need to turn it around quickly because in less than 48 hours from now, they fill face Perth Scorchers at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Whereas, Stars will be in action next in 2026, when they take on Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on January 2.
Before that, the defending champions will take on Melbourne Renegades tomorrow in Hobart. Do join us for that game. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Dev Rajawat and Dushyant Madhukar signing off. Sayonara!
Meanwhile, Thunder have slipped to the 7th spot. They will need to turn it around quickly because in less than 48 hours from now, they fill face Perth Scorchers at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Whereas, Stars will be in action next in 2026, when they take on Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on January 2.
Before that, the defending champions will take on Melbourne Renegades tomorrow in Hobart. Do join us for that game. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Dev Rajawat and Dushyant Madhukar signing off. Sayonara!