Twitter Reactions: Halestorm hits Melbourne Stars in Canberra as Sydney Thunder climb to second place with a big win

Eventually, the Thunder managed to dismiss Stars 75 runs short of the target to register a clinical victory and solidify their position at number 2 in the table.

By Pratyay Tiwari

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3 Min Read

Alex Hales
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Alex Hales. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Alex Hales’ thunderous knock featuring a whopping five sixes and eight boundaries fired the Sydney Thunder to a mammoth 219 for 7 against Melbourne Stars in the 19th clash of the BBL 2020-21. Electing to field upon winning the toss, the Stars’ bowlers were plundered all across the park as Usman Khwaja and Hales started to toy them. Piling up 89 in the first 7 overs, Hales’ mayhem (71 from just 29) was halted by Nic Maddinson, whose brilliant running catch after his own bowling disallowed the on-fire Hales from scoring God knows how many.

The breakthrough, however, did not bring much respite to the bowlers as skipper Callum Ferguson rapidly added 39 with Khawaja ((37 from 31), before the latter perished to Billy Stanlake’s crafty slower one, which he shot straight to Andre Fletcher inside the circle. As Ferguson continued to score in a hassle-free manner, none amongst Oliver Davies (2 from 3), Sam Billings (6 from 6), and Daniel Sams (9 from 5) could assist him in the middle for too long.

However, the tiny bit of partnerships for the 4th and 5th wicket before some late blows of Ben Cutting, who scored 20 from 7, and Chris Green (12 from 4) proved sufficient for the Thunder to cross the 200-mark convincingly.

Chris Green’s four-for withers Stars

Chasing close to 11 runs an over, openers Andre Fletcher (18 from 17) and Marcus Stoinis (27 from 15) provided a decent platform to the upcoming batsmen, however, one wicket led to too many, and the Stars soon found themselves four down with all their big guns back in the hut. While Chris Green got rid of both the openers, Jason Sangha, Chris Tremain, and Daniel Sams chipped in as they eradicated the star-studded middle-order of Stars.

After a brief stay at the crease, Glenn Maxwell (23 from 20) holed out to Adam Milne off Tremain after the early loss of Hilton Cartwright – who was lured by Sangha outside the crease only to end up being stumped for 10, and Nic Maddinson – who was knocked over for 5 by Green. With the required run rate soaring up, Stars needed Nicholas Pooran to fire without fail, although he was undone by Daniel Sams for just 6.

Ben Dunk slammed three sixes as he scored 21 from 9 but with hardly any time left, all he could have done was wildly swing his bat. In one of such attempts, he fell to Green, who bagged a four-wicket haul. Eventually, the Thunder managed to dismiss Stars 75 runs short of the target to register a clinical victory and solidify their position at number 2 in the table.

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BBL 2023-24Sydney ThunderMelbourne Stars