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Captain Glenn Maxwell's all-round show helped Melbourne Stars beat Hobart Hurricanes in a rain-interrupted Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24 encounter at Bellerive Oval on December 28. First, Maxwell took three crucial wickets to help his side bowl out the Hurricanes for 155. Then in the seven overs per side game, he smashed four sixes in 18-ball 35 cameo to guide them home with three balls to spare.
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Maxwell won the toss and opted to bowl first. Matthew Wade fell to Joel Paris in the first over. Caleb Jewell and Macalister Wright shared a 37-run stand. Wright did the damage in the powerplay overs with a 19-ball 33 before Usama Mir took his wicket. Jewell played the anchor role. Sam Hain struggled to hit boundaries and became Maxwell's first victim of the evening. In his next over, he got the wicket of Jewell as well. The opener contributed with a 37-ball 45. Imad Wasim and Maxwell got rid of Corey Anderson and Tim David respectively as the Hurricanes were reduced to 89/6 in the 14th over.
Nikhil Chaudhary pushed the scoring rate with two sixes in three fours in his 16-ball 32. In the slog overs, Haris Rauf got three wickets starting with Chaudhary in the 17th over. Chris Jordan and Patrick Dooley fell in the penultimate over. Skipper Nathan Ellis hit a couple of boundaries before getting run out on the penultimate delivery.
Rain interrupted play and the run chase was reduced to seven overs with a revised target of 67 for the Stars.
Melbourne Stars' run chase was dented by Riley Meredith's double strike to dismiss Sam Harper and Marcus Stoinis for ducks. In the next over, Hilton Cartwright got bowled by Ellis. Maxwell had an early reprieve as he escaped a runout. In the next over, Maxwell smashed Meredith for the first six of the innings.
In the next over, he smashed Chris Jordan for a couple of sixes. Thomas Rogers joined the party and attacked Dooley with consecutive fours. Maxwell capped off the fifth over with a reverse sweep for six. Rogers survived against Ellis as his catch was dropped and the ball raced to the boundary. In the final over, four runs were needed. On the third ball, Maxwell's reverse sweep for three runs took the Stars to their second victory of the tournament. He remained unbeaten for 35 off 18 balls. Rogers contributed with a 14-ball 21.
“My last four overs had gone for 74, so wasn't too comfortable going in. But with the rain. the ball skidded on and I was able to make good use. Once I got a couple out of the middle (with bat), I started to get the rhythm of the wicket. We haven't had a lot of back-to-back wins. Last one was in Jan 2022 I think. It's frustrating (the niggles) because I feel I'm playing as well as I've ever had,” Maxwell said in the post-match presentation as the Stars registered their second consecutive win after losing their first three matches.
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