Canberra [Australia], December 28 : Haris Rauf's three-wicket haul and a blistering half-century from opener Joe Clarke have helped Melbourne Stars to secure a thrashing nine-wicket win over Sydney Thunder in the 14th match of the ongoing Big Bash League 2025-26 season on Sunday.
This was also the Melbourne Stars' fourth consecutive win in the ongoing tournament. Stars continued to stay at the top with eight points and a positive NRR of 1.779.
Sydney Thunder, on the other hand, are languishing at seventh place with just two points to their name in four matches. Thunder has a negative NRR of 0.924.
Batting first, the Sydney Thunder were bundled out for just 128 runs, setting up a target of 129 runs for the Melbourne Stars.
Matthew Gilkes (24 runs off 13 balls, including one four and two sixes), wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings (23 off 19 balls, with the help of three boundaries), and Shadab Khan (25 runs off 24 deliveries, including two fours) played fighting knocks for Thunder.
For Stars, Tom Curran (2/22), Peter Siddle (1/22), Haris Rauf (3/29), captain Marcus Stoinis (2/25), and Mitchell Swepson (2/18) had a brilliant day with the ball.
While chasing 129 runs, openers Joe Clarke (60 off 37 balls with the help of eight fours and one six) and wicketkeeper-batter Sam Harper (29* off 27 balls, with two fours) stitched an 86-run stand for the first wicket.
Glenn Maxwell (39* off 20 balls, including five fours and two sixes) guided Melbourne Stars to reach the target in just 14 overs. Speedster Haris Rauf was named Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul.
After winning the Player of the Match award, Haris Rauf said that he loves playing the Big Bash because he grew up as a cricketer in Australia.
"I always love to play in the Big Bash. I have played a lot of cricket here and basically grew up as a cricketer in Australia, so I always love returning. As a bowling unit, we assessed the conditions well. The most important thing is that we have good communication with each other and pass the messages along," Rauf said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"Especially Marcus Stoinis; he is doing very well and has a great cricketing mind. I am always listening to him; he makes it easy for me. All the boys are happy. Winning four games in a row is great, especially because we have gelled so well as a team and are enjoying every moment of the game. [Weather change] I am freezing too! Thank God we won the toss and bowled first," Rauf added.
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