Big Bash League: Melbourne Stars Crush Sydney Thunder as Haris Rauf and Maxwell Shine!

 

Now Melbourne Stars are undefeated in the BBL: they lead the game with a strong 9-wicket win over Sydney Thunder. Star performance was clinical for the Stars, who went through 6 total overs well beyond the crossing.  

Game Recap: The Battles of the Sydney Thunder :  

Sydney Thunder were on first and Matthew Gilkes’s (24 off 13) pacey start was good but didn’t pull off a big total. Shadab Khan attempted to steady the ship with 25 runs, but Stars bowling was too powerful of an attack. Thunder was finally bowled out for 128 runs in 20 overs.  

**Haris Rauf — The Speedster Returns**  

First star of the opening innings, Haris Rauf. He put in 4 overs for a great 3/29 spell and became the player of the match. Rauf quickly dispatched pivotal players, including Billings, Gilkes and Green, with his pace and clever changes of pace. "I basically grew up playing cricketer in Australia and loved this in there, and like playing in these conditions, so I really love these types of playing", said Haris in the post-match interview.  

The Chase: Joe Clarke and Maxwell Blitzkrieg :  

Looking at a target of 129, the Melbourne Stars appeared quite in charge. Joe Clarke's signature 60 out of 37 balls were the best of the game, even though he injured a finger fielding earlier, as did Maxwell. To bring it all home, Glenn Maxwell delivered even more of a “Big Show” treatment, scoring a rapid 39 off only 20 balls* at match’s close. His blitzkrieg helped MLS to 132/1 in 14 overs.  

Key Performers of the matches:  

SYT- 1st Inns  

Shadab Khan 25(24)  

Matthew Gilkes 24(13)  

MLS 1st Inns  

Haris Rauf 3-29 (4.0)  

MLS - 2nd Inns  

Joe Clarke 60(37)  

Glenn Maxwell 39(20)*  

SYT 2nd inn Bowl  

Chris Green 1-8(2.0)  

What’s Next? :  

Melbourne Stars now hold the best points standings, 4 wins in 4 matches. Their next move would be 2023 to meet Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on January 2. In the meantime, Sydney Thunder also now sits in 7th and faces as much struggle as possible from the Perth Scorchers.  

POINTS TABLE  

Team      P    W      L        NR      NRR       CupR      Pts  

MLS      4      4      0         0       +1.779            3.35           8  

HBH        4       3      1      0        +0.419           3.8              6  

BRH        4       2        2       0        -0.479           14.5             4  

SYS        4       1       3         0       +0.096         13.5              2  

PRS        3      1       2          0       +0.035           6.6              2