Twitter Reactions: Sydney Sixers pull off a heist through skipper Daniel Hughes' special knock

Distilling the situation down to 20 needed from last over, the Coulter-Nile was smoked 6,4, and 6 by Daniel Hughes.

By Pratyay Tiwari

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Daniel Hughes
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Daniel Hughes of the Sixers. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

There is little that any bowler can do when Glenn Maxwell is on a song. And the trouble was double for the Sydney Sixers versus the Melbourne Stars, where they had to face the wrath of Nicholas Pooran alongside a firing Maxwell. Winning the toss, the Sixers’ skipper Daniel Hughes invited the Stars to bat.

The Sixers started well courtesy of some disciplined bowling from Jason Holder and Ben Dwarshuis, who both did not give any freebies to the openers. After being hit for a four from Andre Fletcher, Holder struck in the first over to get rid of him as he skied a leading edge to midwicket. Holder would have had his man again had Ben Dunk not been dropped in the third over, although the batsman failed to utilize the chance and fell to Steve O’Keefe for 24 from 26 after Hilton Cartwright (14 from 12) and Nick Larkin (2 from 3) were dismissed cheaply.

Maxwell-Pooran wreak havoc

Reduced to 49 for 4 in 8.2, a total of 193 was at some distance. However, nothing was unachievable for the Stars given the kind of intentions that Maxwell and Pooran had walked in with. Taking the attack to the opposition, the duo battered the bowlers mercilessly and shifted the momentum towards them in a blink.

Clarifying his intentions right from the onset, Pooran bludgeoned a couple of sixes against Ish Sodhi in the 12th over. Realizing his partner’s mood, Maxwell was quick to invoke the Power Surge in the 13th over. Looting 23 and 26 from the next two overs respectively, Pooran inched close to his half-century, which he completed in merely 17 balls, before perishing for 65 from 26. The massacre from the other end continued as Maxwell (71 from 47) had no intentions of showing any mercy to the bowlers. The scintillating 125-run stand from just 63 powered the Stars to 193 for 6.

Shaky start followed by skipper’s heroics

The Sixers started nervously as they lost both Jack Edwards and James Vince for an identical two-ball-duck by the second over of their response. While Josh Phillippe attempted to get into the rhythm and succeeded briefly, his run was halted by Adam Zampa, who got him caught behind at 22. Taking the charge with the bat to save the sinking ship, skipper Daniel Hughes came out all guns blazing as he targeted every bowler with equal ease.

Having added 50 alongside Phillippe for the third wicket, Hughes stood on his end unswervingly. Though none amongst Daniel Christian (14 from 9) and Jason Holder (18 from 11) could hang on with Hughes for too long, their respective stands of 16 and 26 for the 5th and 6th wicket, respectively, kept their team in the chase.

Placed at 126 for 6 after 14.4, the chase seemed to be slipping away, however, an excellent cameo from Carlos Brathwaite (21 from 12), who slammed a couple of sixes and four provided Sixers the exact acceleration they were seeking. Distilling the situation down to 20 needed from last over, Coulter-Nile was smoked 6,4, and 6 by Hughes (96 from 51), before he fell on the fourth ball to miss a well-deserving century only by 4 runs. A terrible penultimate ball, which ended up as four leg byes eventually sealed the match for Sixers, who won by just a solitary wicket.

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