BBL 5 Final Review: Sydney Thunder trumps Melbourne Stars to win the BBL title

The fifth season of the Big Bash assured a new champion but there was a friendly air in the atmosphere today. And, why it wouldn’t be as the title clash was between Sydney Thunders and Melbourne Starts led by two Hussey brothers- David and Michael Hussey.

The Stars played hosts to their challengers Thunder at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hussey, surrounded by an electric atmosphere, won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Shane Watson removed both the openers Marcus Stoinis (5 off 8) and Luke Wright (23 off 24) quite early. Watson began his spell with the second over of the match and removed Stoinis cheaply. David Hussey brought Watson back again in the seventh over in which he dismissed Wright. David Hussey batted for a quickfire 21 off 14 balls and shared a partnership of 35 runs with Kevin Pietersen and took the ship forward. Evan Gulbis (16 off 11 balls) and Adam Zampa (15 off 10 balls) played explosive cameos with Pietersen. The Stars ended with a highly compatible 176/9 after the end of 20 overs.

Kevin Pietersen, their batting mainstay, batted in a surreal manner for his 39 balls 74 runs knock. His mannerisms while batting were admirable. Controlled aggression and clean striking brought him runs very easily as compared to his peers.

David Hussey rotated his bowlers nicely. The bowlers did reasonably well, striking regularly to keep the pressure on the Stars. Clint McKay was expensive today but made for it by bowling tight final over which resulted in two wickets, costing only six runs. Fawad Ahmed was their costliest bowler with figures of 2/24 in two overs.

Thunder’s reply was dramatic. They began well as Usman Khawaja and Jacques Kallis plundered the Stars’ bowlers without much hassle. Kallis played slow and was troubled by the hamstring but Khawaja was cruising. Finally in the 10 over, Stars got the first breakthrough in the form of Kallis. The voices intensified after Kevin Pietersen caught him at long-on off the bowling of Adam Zampa.

Watson, who had a good day with the ball, failed with the bat miserably as he was dismissed in the following over.

Zampa was bowing excellently and created couple of chances. The closest chance was the LBW appeal which Khawaja survived in the 12th over. Skipper David Hussey added spice to the game after he brought a major turnaround by dismissing Usman Khawaja in the 14th over. It was a crucial blow as it looked for a while that the match was heading for a straightforward finish because of the Khawaja’s imperial batting. His batting was of a different level.

Andrew Russell came in next and smacked his first ball towards deep mid-wicket for a six. There was a marginal chance for Stoinis after he leaped backwards to grab the catch but failed. The game looked easy as 37 were need off the last five over but Adam Zampa added another twist to the game after he dismissed Michael Hussey in the 16th over. The following over by Marcus Stoinis added more excitement as Russell nicked him to the wicket-keeper. The Thunder’s turned the one-sided looking match into an entertaining contest with their sublime bowling show. The match now looked even to some extent.

A six and boundary came off the 17th over by Michael Beer but David Hussey affected a stunning run out to keep the Thunders in contention. 10 runs came off the penultimate over to boil down the last over.

4 runs were needed for the Thunder to seal the win and clinch the title. Ben Rohrer smacked Worrall for a six to hit the winning runs. The crowd roared as the jubilant Usman Khawaja rushed towards Rohrer with rest of the team following him.

Brief Scores:

Melbourne Stars: 176/9 in 20 overs (Pietersen 74; Watson 2/17)

Sydney Thunders: 181/7 in 19.3 overs (Khawaja 70; Stoinis 3/30)

Man of the Match: Usman Khawaja