AS vs MS

Right then, 10 games into the season and the Melbourne Stars are the only unbeaten team left in the comp as they sit comfortaly at the top of the ladder. The league now pauses for a couple of days for Christmas festivities before returning with the season's first double-header on Boxing Day (Dec 26). Till then, take care and good bye. This is Sourabh Agrawal taking your leave on behalf of Bidipto Datta and the entire team. Catch you around!

Tom Curran (Player of the Match, 3/35 in 4 overs): "It's always important to start things off properly with the new ball and I'm lucky enough to pick up those wickets! We are a team with all bases covered in our bowling. Everyone played his part. I couldn't have enough good words for Peter Siddle! He is an ultimate professional, and the hard work he does behind the scenes is just something else! The scheduling has been good this time, so the preparation could be better!"

10:03 PM local time, 5:03 PM IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Melbounre Stars (161/4 in 18.1 overs) beat Adelaide Strikers (155/8 in 20 overs) by 6 wickets

Sam Harper 55(36) | Haris Rauf 3/28(4)
Matthew Short 56(42) | Hasan Ali 2/25(3)

For the second game in a row, Stars' skipper Marcus Stoinis seals the win with a six and they go back-to-back to begin their tournament. Clinical win in the end and they now occupy the top of the points table. Stars are the only unbeaten team in the comp so far now after the completion of 10 games.

156 was never going to be challenging target for this Stars' lineup even though they were a batter short with the injury to Tom Rogers. Sam Harper got a chance to open and he took it with both hands. Him and Joe Clarke provided them with a flying start and then and there killed the run chase ad they raced upto 52/0 at the end of the 4-over powerplay.

Harper registered a half-century and then got out on the very next ball and then there were valuable contributions from the likes of Clarke, Kellaway and Stoinis that ensured Stars got home comfortably in the end with 11 balls to spare.

Strikers' bowlers tried their best but there were just simply not enough runs on the board for them to defend. Lloyd Pope was the standout with his spell of 1/22 bowling his leg-spin, Hasan Ali picked a couple but the result was never a question in the end.

All of it boiled down to the excellence of Stars with the ball earlier in the piece. Tom Curran started it off with a double-wicket over and ended with a 3-er, so did Haris Rauf as the visitors were brilliant with their plans and the executions making the batters hit to the longer side and literally giving them nothing to hit for free thereby restricting Strikers to a below par score despite a fifty for Matthew Short.

18.1 Matthew Short to Marcus Stoinis, SIX RUNS TO FINISH IT! Good length and flat on off-and-middle. Clubbed away on the up, over wide long-on and that too, for a maximum! Melbourne Stars win two matches in a row to start their campaign! 

What was that? Looked like Cartwright almost did not want to hit the winning runs, that could be a good tactic to get in your captain's good books right? Give him the chance to hit the winning runs

17.6 Jamie Overton to Hilton Cartwright, HMMM! Good length and slow around off. Cartwright defends it to the point region from the crease and plays out a dot! 

17.5 Jamie Overton to Hilton Cartwright, FOUR RUNS! Into the pitch on off-stump. Cartwright gets on top of the bounce and pulls it down to the vacant deep mid-wicket area for a boundary! 

17.4 Jamie Overton to Hilton Cartwright, Oh! Heavy ball on the middle-stump line. Cartwright's hook shot off the back foot gets missed. The ball went on to the helmet off the chest there! No leg-bye and this is a case for the concussion check.

17.2 Jamie Overton to Marcus Stoinis, short and accurate on off-stump. Stoinis played it uncomfortably off the back foot but managed to pull it away to deep square for one. 

15 off the over and the Surge ends with 1/20 in the end! That was a touigh ask from the young man to bowl that over. Just 7 more needed now, this could be the final over of the match. Stars set to go back-to-back 

16.6 Jerrssis Wadia to Marcus Stoinis, FOUR! Into the pitch and down the leg-side. Stoinis backed away even more and carved it off the thick outside edge. The ball got cut between short third and backward point to get escorted to the fence.