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Sixers vs Stars: Captain Daniel Hughes shines as Sixers win last ball thriller


Daniel Hughes probably played the innings of his lifetime, ably supported by luck as Sydney Sixers beat their arch-rivals Melbourne Stars in what was a repeat of last year’s Big Bash League (BBL) Final. Hughes, coming in at number four, played a captain’s knock as he scored 96 off 51 balls with the help of seven sixes and six fours. 

He nearly took the team, which was chasing a total of 194 and required 20 from the last over, home before getting out with four runs still required and just two balls remaining. Maxwell then darted in a yorker to number 10 Steve O’Keefe, which hit him on the legs and got deflected past the wicketkeeper Ben Dunk for a four to the third man boundary. 

Liam Hatcher and Brilliant 19th Over

The match was well and truly in the grasp of Melbourne by the end of the 16th over when the Sixers required 52 runs off the last four overs and a new man in Carlos Brathwaite was in. On top of that, Hughes seemed to have lost his touch and wasn’t able to connect his shots well. However, a 9-run over off Zahir Khan, followed by a 20-run over off Adam Zampa, meant that Sixers were within touching distance of getting to the win, with a well and truly set Brathwaite sizing up an inexperienced Hatcher in the 19th over with 23 required from two.  

However, it was Hatcher who was on top of his game as he pulled a rabbit out of the hat to bowl one of the best penultimate overs in the BBL history so far, that too under pressure, giving away just three runs and picking two crucial wickets, of Brathwaite and Ben Dwarshuis. However, that almost proved meaningless as Nathan Coulter Nile’s injury meant that Maxwell, the skipper, had to take it upon himself to defend 20 off the last over. 

Critics will point out that he could have gone for the all-rounder Hilton Cartwright or the more established bowler Zahir Khan who had one over left, but in the end, a decision was made and was backed by Maxwell, although it didn’t go in his favour. 

Misfields Prove Costly for Stars

The Stars were not at their usual best as their ground fielding was probably the worst today, missing four boundaries which could have been easily curtailed to a single or double. Initially, it was Nicholas Pooran and then Nick Larkin, as a substitute, with the key mistake in the final over, going for a catch, that led Hatcher to concede a costly boundary as well. In hindsight, it proved very problematic for the visitors. 

Big Show of Pooran and Maxwell

Earlier in the day, Stars had started their innings on a really slow note, losing opener Andre Fletcher in the first over itself. The innings was slow that even after the end of the 8th over, the Maxwell-led side was at 49-4. But it was only after this that the team’s fortunes took a 360-degree turn with the skipper and Pooran combining to give the spectators a splendid sight to witness, with the ball flying all across the Carrara Oval in Brisbane. Their 125-run stand in just 58 balls meant that Stars got to a total of 193-5, which never looked possible at one stage. Pooran got out at the end of the 18th over, having scored 65 off 26 balls, with the help of two fours and eight sixes, at a strike rate of 250. Maxwell, on the other hand, remained not out on 71 off 47 balls, but could only score 10 in the last over, a bit of disappointment after the fireworks before. 


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India walk redemption path after Adelaide debacle; Batsmen not looking too far ahead

When Indian pacers were extracting the good amount of help from the first-day pitch at the MCG, experts on air were constantly arguing if India did not start on a disadvantageous note by not batting first, and that ‘it was a good toss to lose.’ In the hindsight, it might have been true as well as India got time away from the filed with the bat in hand after the debacle on the third day morning in Adelaide, and instead got the opportunity to put the pressure on Australian bowling line up. A lot of speculations were made about the captaincy style of Ajinkya Rahane, who for the first time in his career, is set to lead the side for three consecutive matches. It was believed that Rahane was not risk-averse and that when presented with a situation of a dilemma on whether to take the aggressive or defensive route out of a problem, he has the habit of taking the bull by its horns. He was showing the heart for a fight against an Australian side who was jumping in joy by dismissing them to their lowest score in Tests in the last match, by playing five bowlers-- a move that showed he was willing to move on from the Adelaide collapse which Virat Kohli had labelled as the ‘worst collapse ever seen.’ But, the real test was waiting for Rahane the captain while on the filed on the first day. Jasprit Bumrah got India off to a brilliant start while Umesh Yadav too did not bowl badly in his initials spell. Surprisingly in a move, that sent many experts into a frenzy, Rahane brought Ashwin when the ball was relatively new, instead of debutant Mohammed Siraj. The decision looked out of place, but for Rahane, it did not lack vision. Ashwin heard the clarion call and dismissed Mathew Wade and the big fish Steve Smith to vindicate his captain’s move. Rahane proved he could see what others were missing in that plot and that it was not purely an instinctive decision but a rational one looking at the moisture present on the pitch. “When we were bowling in the morning there was some moisture on the wicket, so you saw Ashwin and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) got some spin. Because we wanted to make the most of the moisture, we were trying to use them, he (Ashwin) was getting good bounce,” Jasprit Bumrah said in the virtual press conference after the end of first day’s play. While the pitch was offering a fair bit of assistance for the bowlers and the real challenge was in and around off stump for the batsmen, Indians were able to scalp out to big bulls of the Australian batting line up-- Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Smith was brilliantly lured by Ashwin by a delivery that was pitched on the off stump while Labuschagne too was lured by delivery on the straighter line by Siraj. The wicket of Labuschange could be attributed to a false shot by the batsman, but Bumrah refuted to accept that the wicket was not a result of the plan B that the team adopted after batting got better in the middle session. “There were constant discussions going on between bowlers and the captain. The wicket changed after the first session. It got better to bat on in the second session and moisture went away. We were just trying to communicate what kind of lines we wanted to bowl so that we can set the field accordingly. When there was less help, we tried to change the line accordingly,” Bumrah added on why India had fielder in the leg slip/gully position where Labuschagne was caught by debutant Shubman Gill handing another debutant Mohammed Siraj his maiden Test wicket. Siraj got Labuschagne at the start of his second spell and was bowling well for a bowler playing his first match and for the most part of the first day, he outbowled the senior pacer in the group-- Umesh Yadav. He was incisive and bowled with good control. The over he set up Cameron Green showed he belonged to the level of Test cricket and his excellent first day on the filed was not lost on his senior and most important member of the bowling line up. “He has worked really hard and come up the ranks. He was eager to bowl in the first session itself. There wasn’t a lot happening after lunch and he (Siraj) bowled with a lot of control,” Bumrah said. “Suddenly he started getting some movement and wanted to make the best of it. Playing his first Test match, he bowled really well and had the confidence of using all his skills. It’s a heartening sign for us and hopefully, he will continue doing that,” Bumrah spoke highly of Siraj. After dismissing the home side on 195, India had to bat a total of eight overs towards the end of the play, and the opener Mayank Agarwal and the debutant Gill had their task cut out against the likes of Cummins and Starc with the new ball. Unfortunately for India, Agarwal could not handle te fiery first over off Starc and was found late on a ball that moved back towards stumps from the stump line. Ironically, India finished the day on 36-- a score that would haunt them till the time the team reach another historic low, but the story was quite different this time around as India have their nose ahead in the game with Gill looking composed and not batting under pressure by the looks of it and Pujara looking to hold one end. The batting line up would be under some pressure to avoid another Adelaide like debacle with the bat, after being in such a leading position in the game, but Bumrah said that the team would not be mentally constrained for the failures they had in the first Test. He reaffirmed the stance that Virat Kohli had taken after the loss in Adelaide, but said that the team is not looking too far ahead but they will not lag in confidence while facing the pace trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood on the day two of the Boxing Day Test. “We don’t want to be conservative in our mindset and be positive. Control the controllables. Not being reckless but playing with confidence will be the motive going forward. We are trying to focus on things that are in our hands. The focus will be on the first session tomorrow,” Bumrah stated. The batting unit should put the failure behind them and remind themselves that if they can play sessions by sessions and as per their potential, they can leave the hosts way behind in the game on the second day itself, but a collapse of any sort can bring the hosts back in the game, and for that, they will have to be watchful as well.

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Match Preview: Distraught Heat face in-form Hurricanes in must-win game

Brisbane Heat have lost all their matches so far in the 10th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). The situation is likely to get tougher as they now will face the team which is sitting pretty close to the top of the standings currently - Hobart Hurricanes. What would make the match even tougher for the Brisbane side is the challenge of getting over the hearbreak they suffered in their last match - against Adelaide Strikers - where, after a splendid comeback from a hopeless situation, they ended up losing by just two runs. But that ins't all! Heat suffered another major setback in the lead up to the last game when their captain Chriss Lynn ended up hurting his hamstring. He had to miss that match and isn't likely to come back any time soon. The clash of these two teams - at the opposing ends of the points table - promises to be an exciting contest, despite the big discrepancy in their performances so far. Heat Looking to Get Off the Mark Brisbane Heat is lying at the bottom of the table as of now. If they have to keep their chances of qualifying for the playoffs alive, they have to start winning. However, as of now, they have several issues to sort out. Their batting is not firing and their best player in this department - captian Chris Lynn - is out as well. New captain Jimmy Peirson played an astonishing innings in the last match but he would need support from the top order. Nobody except Lynn and Peirson has got a good score under their belt this season. This has to change if Heat want to move up the ladder. Interestingly, Brisbane's bowling is looking good. Xavier Bartlett and Jack Wildermuth have both bowled reasonably well. Mark Steketee also hasn't been bad. Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, who shone with the bat in the last game, is their trump card and could make the difference with the ball. Hurricanes Seek Perfection Despite being very close to the top of the table, Hobart Hurricanes have room for improvement. To begin with, their bowling is looking over-reliant on James Faulkner and Scott Boland. In fact, Boland has also discovered his form in the last two games. Nathan Ellis, who made a big impression last year hasn't shone in this season, so far, while Riley Meredith is also yet to have a good, decent set of figures under his belt in the current edition. South Africa's former international Johan Botha is in the squad but whether he plays or not depends on the conditions. However, with there not being much contribution from Ellis or Meredith, he might be picked ahead of them. West Indian Keemo Paul hasn't had a good start to the season. But having invested in him, the team is likely to persist with the pacer. The batting department gets a huge boost with the arrival of Dawid Malan - the best batsman in world T20I cricket presently, according to the rankings. With Colin Ingram, D'Arcy Short, and Ben McDermott already in good form, Malan's entry would make the batting even more strengthened. Hurricanes vs Heat: Match Details Venue: Gabba, Brisbane Date and Time: December 27, 1:45 PM IST, 7:15 PM Local, 8:15 AM GMT Broadcasters: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Pitch Report Brisbane is traditionally a venue providing assistance to pacers. However, in its first match of the season, both Danny Briggs and Rashid Khan looked deadly. This may suggest that either the surface is dry or slow. Johan Botha may be brought into the team by Hurricanes. Weather and Toss The skies are expected to be clear but with the occassional cloud making its way across. The temperatures would be around 22 degrees, making the evening comfortable for players. Toss would not be that important and won't be affected by weather. Probable XIs Brisbane Heat: Sam Heazlett, Max Bryant, Simon Milenko, Dan Lawrence, Jimmy Peirson (C and Wk), Tom Cooper, Jack Wildermuth, Mark Steketee, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Laughlin Hobart Hurricanes: D'Arcy Short, Will Jacks, Ben McDermott (Wk), Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (C), Colin Ingram, Tim David, James Faulkner, Johan Botha, Keemo Paul, Scott Boland

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BBL 10 | Thunder vs Renegades: Sydney's power-packed performances blow off Melbourne

The Sydney Thunder made light work of the batting lineup of the Melbourne Renegades and handed a massive defeat by 129 runs in the 14th match of the Big Bash League. The Thunders were in supreme form in Canberra and put out complete team performances in all the departments of the game, and left the Renegades toothless in chase of a big score. For the Thunder, the stars of the show were leg spinner Tanveer Sangha, who took four wickets for only 14 runs in his 3.2 over bowling efforts and Oliver Davies who blasted 48 runs off 23 balls to keep the momentum going for the Thunder. The Renegades were given a steep target of 209 runs to chase, and the experienced opener Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch could not get going against the opening bowling pair of Adam Milne and Daniel Sams. But, the opening big wicket of Shaun Warsh was scalped by Nathan McAndrew, who is keeping his stocks shining with every game. The next man in, Sam Harper started to get the Renegades back into the game as the duo took 13 runs off Adam Milne in the first five balls of Milne, but the Kiwi got the better of Harper on the last ball to clog back the momentum. After the end of the powerplay, Callum Fergusson introduced Tanveer Sangha and he was at the short cover to catch one of the best batsmen in the Renegades batting line up—Aaron Finch when he tried to power one shortish delivery of Sangha through the off side. Next set of batsmen Beau Webster and Rilee Rossouw tried to take the game into the Thunder camp, but it wasn’t the Renegades' night at the Manuka Oval as Sangha accounted for Webster in his next over. The problem got deeper when Chris Green got Rossouw caught slog sweeping in pursuit of a higher required run rate. The jolts were too much to handle for the Renegades and when Sangha came back to dismiss Mohammad Nabi and Green accounted for Imad Wasim, the night was set to be longer for the Renegades, who now have lost three of their four matches in the campaign this year. The men in red and black could sustain only 12.2 overs while the Thunder plundered 209 runs and it emphasized the kind of routing the team suffered in both the departments and it might have left Renegades skipper Aaron Finch booking back on his decision to field first. The Thunder were off to a splendid start as the opening pair of Alex Hales and Usman Khwaja took full toll of the listless bowling from the new ball bowlers of the Renegades. Khwaja was particularly severe on Peter Hatzoglou and took him for 6 runs to provide a rollick platform for the Thunder. Finch tried to slow down the pace of the game by introducing Imad Wasim but Hales was up to the task and sent the left-arm spinner for long journeys over the fence. By the end of the powerplay, the Thunder were already at 50/0 and both Hales and Khwaja were looking in devastating form. By the time Khwaja was sent back to the pavilion courtesy a screamer by Zak Evans at the end of the sixth over, the Thunder were already at a dictating position of 71/1. Hales quickly followed Khwaja to the dugout but the next man in, Oliver Davies was looking in menacing form and treated all Renegades bowlers with disdain. He smashed four sixes off Mohammad Nabi and when Finch brought Will Sutherland to check his hitting, he too was greeted with a big hit over the midwicket fence. However, the right armer got the better of Davies on the third ball of his third over with a searing yorker. On the other end, Callum Ferguson struggled to get going and could only score at a strike rate of 100 runs per balls, but Daile Sams and Nathan McAndrew made sure that the Thunder finished strongly with the bat. Kane Richardson tried to bring momentum in Renegades' favour as three wickets fell in the 19th over, but McAndrew came hard at Zak Evans to slog him for three sixes to lead the Thunder past 200-mark which ultimately proved too steep for the Renegades to reach. On the back of this one-sided win, the Thunder has surged to the top of the points table with three wins out of four games while the Renegades have been relegated to the bottom half of the points table.

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Inside out | Mohammed Siraj bided his time, now shows strengths on Test debut

When Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the Test series after fracturing his wrist in Adelaide, there were huge rounds of disappointments as India were already without Ishant Sharma, and the absence of Shami meant Ajinkya Rahane was left with only Jasprut Bumrah as someone he could rely on to bring wickets. But, in a team sport, pain for one is again for someone else, and it was obvious that one of Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj had to gain from Shami’s injury. There was a direct toss-up between Siraj and Saini, but all within the Indian camp and commentariat believed Siraj was more prepared for the debut at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test and ultimately the pacer from Hyderabad got India cap from Ravichandran Ashwin. Siraj has an excellent record in the first-class cricket and for India A and he has bid his time well to earn the call-up. He was brought to the Indian team set up but failed to impress in the T20 format and it was widely argued that he was given chance in the wrong format and that he is suited more in the long form of the game where he could do what he does best-- bide his time. On his first day of international career, Siraj was made to wait by Rahane although he had the option of easing him through when Australian were under pressure after the fall of Steve Smith but Rahane had other ideas. Rahane was keen to check if Ravindra Jadeja could extract the same amount of purchase off the pitch as his partner Ashwin was able to get in the spell where he dismissed both Matthew Wade and Steve Smith and all Siraj could do was to wait for his opportunity fielding at mid-off and fine leg positions. Rahane introduced Siraj straightaway with the first over after the lunch and Siraj showed his readiness to play Test cricket and fulfil the role India expect him to play. He was on the money from the word go and his first ball pitched on the off stump line at the back of a length and Travis Head was forced to play at it, albeit not unconvincingly. The Kookaburra ball used in Test matches does not swing for too long and the art of controlling the flow of the innings and bowling in a channel holds the key for the success of any bowling attack, especially in Australia. After a couple of overs when he leaked out few driveable deliveries to Head and Marnus Labuschange, Siraj started honing at the perfect length and line just outside the off-stump to keep batsmen guessing if they had to play at his deliveries or to leave them. His first spell lasted for six overs when he bowled unchanged till the drinks break in the afternoon session post the lunch interval and his figure read 6-0-24-0. He was impressive and bowled incisive lengths but wickets did not come for him. By the time he returned to his second spell in the 48th over of the innings, Head was sent back by Bumrah and the new man in- Cameron Green was not getting the top of the bowling attack, especially Ashwin at the other end. Rahane would have expected Siraj to bowl as per the plans and Siraj was once again ready. The second over of second spell brought him his first Test wicket and that too of the well set Marnus Labuschagne and his dismissal was laid down to a perfect trap set by the captain Rahane and Siraj, and the bowler showed repaid the faith of captain bowling complete on the plans and Labuschagne was gone and with him, a big opening was also created. Siraj had bid his time, waited for his opportunity to showcase what he has to offer and now it was the time to show his strength. He started bowling in a nice rhythm and the bowling in the channel was going flawlessly for him. He kept on challenging the outside edges of both Tim Paine and Cameron Green as India were looking to get on top of it. Siraj was looking like the bowler who could chip in with the role of a supporting bowler if can’t fill the big void left by Mohammed Shami. He showed commendable maturity being a rookie at the international stage, but all those long spells with the red ball for India A were showing its effects as Siraj showed exemplary temperament and set up the batsmen Green instead of searching for glory balls every over and trying to take wickets every ball. Siraj was into his long spell and was troubling Green with away going deliveries pitched on good lengths, but all of a sudden one delivery nipped back sharply off the seam and found Green in front of the stumps. Umpire Paul Reifel adjudged Green LBW and the delight at Siraj’s face was for everyone to see. Siraj has put a big price on the opportunity has got in Melbourne as he could not decide on leaving the tour midway after his father passed away due to illness. The decision must have been tough, but Siraj’s resolve for success at the highest level, which was also the dream of his late father and the commitment for the game was overweighing the pain and mental weakness he could have felt after hearing the fact that he won’t be able to see his father again. Siraj has come a long from a very humble background, but this is not a celebration of the journey. Enough has been said on the level of his achievements in his long and hard journey off the filed, and it’s time for him to perform on the field for his success story to replace the story of his background. Hopefully, he has set off for it at the MCG today.