Not as dramatic as the final of the last BBL season but Melbourne Stars once again crumbled in a chase and the hosts Sydney Sixers claimed their second BBL title after a gap of 8 years. Unexpectedly, the rain held off long enough to allow for the 12-over a side game. In the end, Moises Henriques-led Sydney Sixers beat Glenn Maxwell-led Melbourne Stars by 19 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Chasing the target of 117 runs, the Stars who were guilty of leaving things for too late in the last BBL final, came up with the intent in the very first over. The leading run-scorer Marcus Stoinis targeted Nathan Lyon but perished by giving a catch to Sean Abbott at the mid-wicket in only the 4th delivery of the first over. And thus Nathan Lyon picked probably the most important wicket of the match. Stoinis made 10 runs in 4 balls, hitting 1 four and 1 six.
A slower one from Hazlewood did the trick for the other opener Nic Maddinson. Skipper Maxwell promoted himself to number 3 but Sixers’ wily old fox Steve O’Keefe trapped the big fish when he went for a booming sweep and missed it completely. A brain fade run-out is all the Sixers needed to seal the fate which Peter Handscomb offered them, as he got run-out by the ever-alert Steve Smith.
Nathan Coulter Nile and Nick Larkin threw their bats at the end but it was too little too late. Sixers’ bowler Nathan Lyon took 2 wickets giving 19 runs in 2 overs, while Steve O’Keefe took 2 wickets giving 27 runs in 3 overs.
Earlier, Glenn Maxwell won the bat flip and considering the pitch was under covers for so long, he invited the Sixers to bat first. James Vince was the first one to go as he top-edged a short ball to the mid-on region. Smith played a quick cameo until skipper Maxwell’s tactic of introducing himself to bowl did the trick for him. Steve Smith scored 12-ball 21 runs, hitting 2 fours and 1 six.
Sixers kept losing wickets from one end but all this while one batsman, Josh Phillipe, who looked like batting on a different pitch took the game away from the Stars. A whip off Coulter Nile over mid-wicket got his innings going and he never looked back since. He scored his 3rd fifty in 4 games after a string of single-digit scores. Josh Phillipe scored 29-ball 52 runs, hitting 4 fours and 3 sixes. He was later clean bowled by Adam Zampa in the final over.
Late flourish by Jordan Silk 27*(15) took them to a more than a competitive total of 116/5 in 12 overs. Glenn Maxwell took 2 wickets giving 17 runs in 2 overs, while Zampa took two wickets giving 24 runs in 3 overs.
It’s the 2nd BBL title for Sydney Sixers. After the inaugural BBL season title, they had also won the Champions League in 2012. Though they missed out twice against Perth Scorchers in the final of 2015 and 2017 season, this time they made sure to print their name as winners in the Big Bash League history book.
On the other side, Melbourne Stars are slowly entering into a territory to what South Africa is famous for in international cricket. They played amazing cricket throughout the season but somehow failed to cross the final hurdle. After losing 3 finals and 5 semifinals, they certainly need some introspection of their record in the knock-out games.
Sydney Sixer’s wicket-keeper batsman Josh Phillipe was named as the player of the match.
Winning captain Moises Henriques looked a bit emotional after the win and thanked his team and management for putting some awesome team performances. He mentioned special praise for his five bowlers in the match by saying that any captain is lucky to have such a quality bowling attack. Henriques also praised the runners-up Melbourne Stars for their performances throughout the season. He thanked all the fans who had come to watch the match in spite of the rainy weather. He stressed the fact that the Final match tickets were all sold out but the rainy weather made it difficult for many fans to come and support the teams.
Melbourne Stars captain, Glenn Maxwell, on the other hand, looked extremely gutted by another loss in the BBL final for the Stars. He congratulated the Sixers on their title win.
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