Advertisement
Advertisement
CANBERRA: Haris Rauf continued his impressive run in the Big Bash League (BBL) 15 as Melbourne Stars romped to a nine-wicket victory over Sydney Thunder in the 14th fixture of the tournament here at the Manuka Oval on Sunday.
Set a partly 129, Stars aced the chase inside 14 overs, losing only one wicket in the process.
Joe Clarke and Sam Harper came out firing all cylinders, adding 86 in 9.4 overs, which made the competition a one-sided affair.
Clarke remained the core aggressor, top scoring with 60 off 37 with the help of eight fours and a six.
Sam Harper unbeaten 29 off 27, including two fours, whereas Glenn Maxwell also got going with a quick-fire 39* from 20, striking five fours and two sixes.
For Sydney Thunder, Chris Green remained the solitary wicket-taker.
Earlier, Haris Rauf led bowling attack bundled out the Sydney Thunder for a modest 128 at the end of their 20 overs.
After a decent start, Rauf removed Matthew Gilkes for 24 to give Stars an opening. The opener hit a six and two fours before getting caught.
Soon after, Sam Konstas was sent back as well after managing just 11 from 15 balls. The hiccup reduced them to 39-2 in 5.1 overs as veteran batter David Warner arrived at the crease in a bid to stabilize the innings.
Warner and Cameron Bancroft added only 16 before both were dismissed in quick succession to leave Thunder in disarray.
As a result, Thunder were 63-4 in 9.5 overs before a brief partnership of 27 between Sam Billings and Shadab Khan took their score to near the 100-run mark.
However, Thunder had a similar plot: losing quick wickets in a short span of time that could get their innings going, and eventually the whole team was bundled out for a modest score.
Shadab remained the top scorer with 25 off 24 with the aid of two fours, whereas Sam Billings hit two fours and a six in his 23 from 19 balls.
For Melbourne Stars, Haris Rauf picked up three in his four overs, while Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, and Tom Curran were equally good with two wickets to their name.
With this, the Melbourne Stars extended their undefeated run, winning four out of four games, and are at the top of the points table.
