BBL|12: Sutherland holds his nerves to pull off stunning win for Renegades
Renegades prior to the second innings
If death bowling is an art, then Melbourne Renegades have shown mastery of that art tonight. In the last three overs of the game, the home team at Docklands Stadium gave literally nothing as they sealed a win from the jaws of a loss.
From 97-1 in 10.1 overs in a chase of 162 runs, the Stars were nowhere close to a loss; but then they saw a losing flurry of wickets that literally changed the face of the game.
The Stars would be gutted as they were cruising at one point. The opening duo of Joe Clarke and Thomas Rogers looked in pristine touch from the word go with the duo putting on 33 runs in the four-over Powerplay. The scoring rate only increased with Joe Clarke reaching his fifty off 27 balls while the Stars had 82-0 on the board.
But, the game started to turn when Fawad Ahmed gave the opening breakthrough by sending back Thomas Rogers. Soon, Clarke also fell as he heaved a length delivery from Kane Richardson to deep mid-wicket.
Hilton Cartwright started aggressively but he holed out to deep mid-wicket off Ruwantha Kellepotha's leg-spin. The collapse happened during the Power Surge which fetched just 12 runs for the cost of two wickets. The powerful Beau Webster also started well, however; he played one shot too many strokes.
Thereafter, the experienced pair of Fawad and Kane Richardson bowled tightly to concede a combined six runs off two overs. This brought down the equation to 15 required off 12 balls with Stars still holding the upper hand.
This is when Tom Rogers changed the game by conceding just three runs while also dismissing Clint Hincliffe. In the end, Will Sutherland delivered a superb final over to make sure Nick Larkin and Brody Couch fell short of the target.
Harper's effort took Renegades to respectable total
Earlier in the day, it was Sam Harper who played a sensible knock which included both smart running between the wickets and some lusty blows over the fence.
Harper scored a decent fifty, which was also his third consecutive fifty-plus this season. He stretched his purple, after smashing 63 and 89 in the last two fixture, by scoring those important runs for his team yet again.
He came to the crease in the second over of the game itself and started playing his stroke from the word go. It was his 36-ball 51 that accelerated Renegades' innings. But, he too failed to up the ante as went back to the hut in the 15th over.
However, then Jonathan Wells came to the party with an uncharacteristic yet welcome cameo as he smacked 44 off just 24 balls.
Brief Score:
Melbourne Renegades - 162-7 (20.0)
Sam Harper - 51 (36), Jonathan Wells - 44 (24)
Liam Hatcher - 2/30 (4), Brody Couch - 2/40 (3)
Melbourne Stars - 156-7 (20.0)
Joe Clarke - 59 (27), Beau Webster - 29 (18)
Kane Richardson - 2/17 (4), Tom Rogers - 2/45 (4)
Result: Melbourne Renegades won by 6 runs.
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