Andre Russell amused the crowd at Showground Stadium as he smoked a 102-meter monster during his innings of 42* and took his team home with a 6 wickets win over Sydney Thunder.
Two wins on the trot for the @StarsBBL! #BBL11 pic.twitter.com/YDLq5razGx
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 12, 2021
After winning the toss, Glenn Maxwell opted to field and managed to put up a fine bowling performance by his team to restrict Thunders on a gettable total of 151 in their 20 overs. Thunders didn’t get that destructive approach in their innings. Alex Ross topped the scorer’s list for them with an unbeaten knock of 77* in 49 deliveries he faced with the help of 4 fours and 4 sixes and a late contribution from Daniel Sams. Young Qais Ahmed was the man for Stars as he gave a clinical bowling performance of 2/17 in his 4 overs. Brody Couch and skipper Maxwell also picked up a wicket each.
Chasing the target, Stars had a bad start to the innings as they lost 2 early wickets but was rescued by Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell in the middle. The duo added 59 runs for 3rd wicket before Tanvir Sangha got the better of both the batsmen. Sangha dismissed Stoinis (31) first and then captain Maxwell (40) who was looking in great touch in successive deliveries. Melbourne Stars were frozen at 83-4 in 11.3 overs when Andre Russell came out to bat and then there was all Jamaican show in Sydney as the all-rounder entertained the crowd with his immense hitting and played a fiery inning of 43* in just 22 balls with a boundary and 5 huge sixes. He was well supported by Hilton Cartwright who made an effective contribution of 22 off just 12 deliveries. They both added 72 runs for the 5th wicket and secured a 6-wicket victory for their team with almost 3 overs to spare. Tanveer Sangha was the efficient bowler for Thunders who got 2 wickets for just 20 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Nathan McAndrew and Ben Cutting got a wicket each.
DreRuss brings the Stars home with style! 💥@KFCAustralia #BBL11 pic.twitter.com/LcUhpBffIy
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 12, 2021
Andre Russell for his match-winning performance was adjudged as the Player of the match.
This was Melbourne Stars’ 2nd victory on the trot after being humiliated by Sydney Sixers in the tournament opener.
Andre Russell’s inclusion has given the Stars a heavy influence going forward in the tournament. Russell who missed the 1st match for Stars made a comeback in their 2nd match against the same opponent on Friday and managed to produce a 17-run cameo late in the innings.