BBL: Stars steal victory from jaws of defeat

In one of the greatest Big Bash matches of all time, the Melbourne Stars registered their second straight win of the fourth edition of BBL by defeating Sydney Sixers in a super over at the MCG in front of a home crowd of twenty thousand.

Sydney Sixers went out to bat first. It was a typical MCG wicket, favoring bowlers and a fast outfield. Opener Nic Maddinson was dismissed in the second over for 5 runs. Micheal Lumb smashed the ball all over the ground and maintained his wicket at one end, whereas his partners kept changing at the other. Lumb and Silk shared a 69 run partnership for the 4th wicket. Lumb was dismissed by Boland for 80, hitting 6 fours and 3 sixes in his innings. At the end of 20 overs, the Sixers were 150 for the loss of six wickets. Only two batsmen of the Sixers scored in double digits. The Stars needed 151 to win which was quite competitive in terms of the conditions.

Brett Lee showed his class in the very first over by dismissing Luke Wright. Skipper Cameron White and Kevin Pieterson had a 70 run partnership for the second wicket. Pieterson scored a magnificent half century in 41 balls. But both were out within 15 runs and Sixers eyed a victory. Glenn Maxwell’s poor form continued and was dismissed cheaply. The Stars still required 39 runs of last 4 overs. James Faulkner and Tom Triffitt were at the crease. They scored steadily but the pressure kept building. 28 runs were required of 12 balls. Triffitt hit a single handed six over long midwicket boundary on the first ball of second last over. The Bollinger over went for 12 runs.

16 were required of the last over. Brett Lee was given the ball. Faulkner hit a four on the first ball and then took a single on the next. Lee bowled a very high slow bouncer, which appeared to be wide but umpire didn’t signal anything. 11 were required off 3 now. The match appeared to be slipping out of the Stars hands. Triffitt edged a yorker for four and drove a low full toss through cover bringing the equation down to 3 needed off the last ball. Triffitt drove it to long on and was only able to score 2. This was the first tie of the fourth edition of BBL.

Stars started the super over. Lee was bowling again. Faulkner smashed the fourth ball of the over for a 103 metre six over long on. Lee also bowled wide. Faulkner then hit a flat six over long off to seal their super over at 19 runs. Sixers required 20 runs to win the match. It looked highly unlikely.

Maddinson attacked and top edged the second ball of the super over. KP called for it with Cameron White near him. Ball popped out of KP’s hands and White caught it. One of the funniest dismissals ever. With that wicket, the match was sealed. Hastings conceded only 9 runs in his super over and took 2 wickets. The Melbourne Stars won the super over by 10 runs.

James Faulkner won the man of the match award for his all round performance.