The all-round trio of Beau Webster, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell stood out for the Stars
Melbourne Stars defeated Hobart Hurricanes by 40 runs on Sunday in the final league game of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 to qualify for the play-offs with fifth win on the bounce. Hurricanes had already made it to the play-offs as the top-ranked team in the league stage. (More Cricket News)
Hobart Hurricanes had won the toss and decided to bat first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes Playing XIs
Melbourne Stars: Thomas Fraser Rogers, Sam Harper (wk), Beau Webster, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Tom Curran, Joel Paris, Usama Mir, Mark Steketee, and Peter Siddle.
Hobart Hurricanes: Caleb Jewell, Mitchell Owen, Charlie Wakim, Ben McDermott, Nikhil Chaudhary, Matthew Wade (wk), Tim David, Chris Jordan, Nathan Ellis (c), Cameron Gannon, and Marcus Bean.
The all-round trio of Beau Webster, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell stood out for the Stars. Webster scored a 31-ball 51 while Stoinis made 32. Skipper Maxwell smashed an unbeaten 76 off just 32 balls to propel Stars to 219/5 in 20 overs.
Mark Steketee took four wickets as the Stars to bowl the Hurricanes out for 179. Only Mitch Owen (38) and captain Nathan Ellis (40) were the batters who showed some resistance. Joel Paris and Usama Mir picked up two wickets each for the Stars.
Thus, the Stars who had begun the tournament with five straight losses, won five games on the bounce to advance to the play-offs. Perth Scorchers were knocked out.
Maxwell was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunders are the other three teams in the play-offs.