Twitter Reactions: Renegades clinch Melbourne derby courtesy Harvey, Wesbter's heroics

The tide changed entirely in the favor of Renegades when the duo belted Coulter-Nile for 19 runs in the penultimate over.

By Pratyay Tiwari

View : 859

3 Min Read

Mackenzie Harvey
info
Mackenzie Harvey. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

An inspirational lower-order carnage led Melbourne Renegades to an improbable victory over their Melbourne counterpart in the 45th league encounter of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21. Having elected to bat first, the Stars managed a modest target of 158 for 6 from their 20 overs courtesy of Nick Larkin’s 47-ball 61. Josh Lalor got the early breakthrough for the Renegades as Andre Fletcher (11 from 14) failed to tackle a slower one, which rattled his stumps.

Marcus Stoinis and Larkin then rebuilt the innings through their 41-run alliance for the second wicket, however, the twin strikes by Zak Evans who first ended Stoinis’ 27-ball outing, getting him caught at deep square leg, and followed it by cleaning up Nathan Coulter-Nile for a golden duck, dismantled any momentum that the Stars had built. Continuing his dismal run, Glenn Maxwell skied an Imad Wasim delivery to midwicket after getting only 1 from 4 before Nic Maddinson provided some assistance to Larkin through his 21 from 18, including a couple of sixes and a four.

Larkin held his end up, slamming eight boundaries and a six in his 61 from 47. However, the lack of partnerships meant that the Stars could never break free the way they would have liked. Though Maddinson looked in a good nick, he miscued a slightly shorter one from Hatzolgou to Webster fielding at mid-off. Hatzolgou got another scalp as Hilton Cartwright played on after scoring a run-a-ball 4 as Stars finished 158.

Top-order woes continue to haunt Renegades 

Renegades a trademark start, losing early wickets as Nathan Coulter-Nile struck on the last ball of the very first over to undo Shaun Marsh’s stumps, whereas Aaron Finch somehow managed to deflect a fuller delivery from Zahir Khan to his stumps to end his 10-run knock. The subsequent stands lacked any momentum as Sam Harper and James Frazer-McGurk added 33, even lesser than a run-a-ball, whereas the 40 runs added by Harper with Jack Prestwidge took 29.

While Frazer-McGurk holed out to Cartwright to give Coulter-Nile his second wicket, Harper, who struck three fours and a six en route to his 39 from 34, was pinned LBW by Stoinis soon before Coulter-Nile got the struggling Jack Prestwidge caught behind by Seb Gotch. Looking lifeless at 97 for 5, the Renegades camp seemed gloomy, expecting another defeat knocking on their doors. However, little did anyone know about the sensational counterattacking assault that was to follow.

Harvey-Webster’s incredible counterattack 

Walking in at 6 with an unlikely target of 71 required from the last 6 overs, Mackenzie Harvey picked up momentum in the Power Surge over, accumulating 22 runs. Getting the able support from Beau Webster, who struck at 244, scoring a 9-ball 22 with three fours and a six, Harvey slammed Liam Hatcher for 16 runs in the 18th over. The tide changed entirely in the favor of Renegades when the duo belted Coulter-Nile for 19 runs in the penultimate over and brought the equation down to a 6 needed off the final over.

Harvey finished unbeaten at 47 from 21 deliveries, with six fours and a couple of sixes, as Renegades sealed the match by 5 wickets with two balls to spare. It is merely the third win for Renegades in 12 fixtures, whereas Stars, with 5 wins in 12 games, stand tied with Perth Scorchers at 24 points, separated only by Net Run Rate.

Here are the best tweets

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store
BBL 2023-24Melbourne Stars