Image Credit- Getty
On New Year’s Eve, Marcus Stoinis hit the return
button as he assisted the Melbourne Stars in achieving their biggest BBL run
chase with a seven-wicket victory over the Adelaide Strikers.
At Adelaide Oval on Sunday, after Chris Lynn (83* off
42 balls) and Matt Short (56 off 32) helped the Strikers to a commanding 205
for 4, Beau Webster (66* off 48) and Stoinis (55* off 19) quiet the boisterous
42,505 spectators, sealing victory with six balls to spare.
With just 30 runs for the tournament at an average of
six, Stoinis came into the game completely out of form. He pounded the Strikers
into submission, making a difficult chase seem easy.
Wes Agar was furious when his full toss, which Stoinis
hammered for four, was called too high and a no-ball in the 18th over, easing
the equation for the Stars with the match hanging in the balance.
However, Stoinis—who was also this year’s New Year’s
Eve hero—crushed James Bazley for 6,2,4,6, and 6 to win in the 19th, so no luck
was needed.
Dan Lawrence (50), almost immediately off the aircraft
as a replacement player for the departing Pakistani pair Haris Rauf and Usama
Mir, lit up the powerplay after Tom Rogers (8) left cheaply. However, Lawrence
was eliminated in a controversial manner.
Stars skipper Glenn Maxwell (28) miscued impressive
legspinner Cameron Boyce to Adam Hose in the outer, but then Webster and
Stoinis’ fireworks show began.
Earlier, the Strikers were once targeting a total
close to 250 thanks to skipper Matt Short and master blaster Lynn. Following a
return catch by spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, which was spooned by D’Arcy Short
(25), captain Short and Lynn blasted 83 off the following five overs to take
first and second place on the competition’s run-scoring table.
Despite hitting four sixes and receiving strong late
help from Jamie Overton, the all-time BBL top run scorer Lynn was in no mood to
match Stoinis’s.