BBL 07, Match 30 Review: Nathan Lyon steers Sydney Sixers to another win

After losing six games on the trot, the Sydney Sixers looked down and out of the tournament, but here there are with two wins in a row. Nic Maddinson shined with the bat whilst Nathan Lyon bowled a breathtaking spell to complete their best win of this year’s campaign. Their chances of qualification still are very grim, but this is a good way to bounce back.

Melbourne Stars’ top three have been very inconsistent this season. They continued the same in this game as Kevin Pietersen, Ben Dunk and Luke Wright walked back before the Powerplay finished. Nathan Lyon was the man who picked up two of these wickets, breaking the backbone of their side with ease.

Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb steadied the ship in the next few over. The duo added a crucial 45-run stand for the 4th wicket, without which they would’ve slumped even further. But both these players gave away their wickets in a span of four balls, pushing them on the back foot yet again in the innings.

The onus was on James Faulkner and Ivan Gulbis to give them a good finish, but they did a mediocre job. They both failed to maintain strike-rate above 100, which had an adverse effect on their run-rate. Faulker finished with a 30-ball 28, whilst Gulbis could only manage 24 runs in the 25 balls he faced.

The Stars were restricted to 128/7 in their 20 overs. Nathan Lyon was the star with the cherry in hand, picking up 3 big wickets and giving away just 18 runs. Sean Abbott proved to be a little expensive, but he came home with a brace after his name.

Maddinson at his very best!

After stroking a fifty on his BBL debut, English cricketer Joe Denly was dismissed early in the innings today. Daniel Hughes was then accompanied by Nic Maddinson, who was in a mood to kill people with his bat. He started off his innings with a six and a four off skipper John Hastings in the 6th over, and followed the same suit in the next over off Faulkner.

With a huge six in the 10th over, he brought up the fifty run stand between him and Hughes. Hughes did nothing spectacular all this while other than watching his partner torment the bowlers.  Maddinson brought up his half-century soon and this was without a doubt one of the finest innings from him in a long time.

After completing his fifty in 23 balls, he scored another couple of boundaries before getting dismissed. He got out after scoring a breathtaking 62 off just 31 balls, which made even the MCG crowd appreciate his effort. Hughes and Maddinson added 92 runs for the 2nd wicket in 56 balls and the latter’s wicket was just a consolation.

The Sixers chased the total down in 15.1 overs, which mathematically keeps them in the fray for a spot in the Semifinals. Having said that, not many times teams pull off a “Mumbai Indians” but the Sixers side have some excellent players to do the unthinkable.

Brief Scores

Melbourne Stars: 128/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 28, James Faulkner 28; Nathan Lyon 3/18)

Sydney Sixers: 129/2 in 15.1 overs (Nic Maddinson 62, Daniel Hughes 49*)

Player of the match: Nathan Lyon

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