Stoinis, opener help Stars crush Renegades in Melbourne derby
MELBOURNE: Captain Marcus Stoinis’s economical bowling figures of 3/33, followed by half-centuries from openers Thomas Rogers and Sam Harper, led Melbourne Stars to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Melbourne Renegades in the 30th match of the Big Bash League (BBL) here at the Docklands Stadium on Saturday.
Put into bat first, the Renegades could accumulate 166/7 in their 20 overs despite Josh Brown’s quickfire half-century. The right-handed opener waged a lone battle for the Renegades and remained the top-scorer with a 50-ball 80, laced with seven fours and four sixes.
Besides him, only Hassan Khan (23), Mohammad Rizwan (21) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (17) could amass double figures against the disciplined Stars’ bowling attack, led by their captain Stoinis, who bagged three wickets.
Pakistan international Haris Rauf backed Stoinis’s efforts with two wickets for 31 runs in his four overs, while Tom Curran and Peter Siddle claimed one apiece. In response, the Stars made a light work of the 167-run target as they chased it down for the loss of just two wickets and 25 balls to spare, courtesy of a strong start provided by openers Rogers and Harper.
The opening pair yielded 84 runs inside eight overs as Rogers dominated the Renegades’ bowling attack, smashing four sixes and as many fours during his 24-ball 53. Hassan Khan gave the Renegades their second breakthrough in the next over by getting Campbell Kellaway (seven) caught deep backward square leg, bringing the total down to 92/2 in 8.1 overs.
Harper then switched gears and took the game out of the Renegades’ grasp with clean hitting and eventually steered the Stars over the line with an unbeaten 78-run partnership for the third-wicket with Glenn Maxwell, who made 20 not out from 17 deliveries. The right-handed opener remained the top-scorer for the Stars with an unbeaten 84 off just 51 deliveries, studded with eight fours and four sixes and was consequently named the Player of the Match. Hassan remained the solitary wicket-taker for the Renegades. The eight-wicket victory consolidated Melbourne Stars’ second position in the BBL 2025-26 standings as they now have 10 points after eight matches, while Melbourne Renegades remained seventh with six points in a game less. Web Desk
