Adelaide: Fast bowler Harris Rauf took three wickets followed by wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Harper’s half-century as Melbourne Stars secured a convincing win over Adelaide Strikers in Game 10 of the Big Bash League (PBL) 15th on Tuesday.
Batting first, the Strikers posted a match total of 155-8, largely due to a solid performance by captain and opening batsman Matthew Short.
Short scored 56 off 42 balls with 4 fours.
Middle-order batsmen Liam Scott and Alex Rose provided useful support after an early wobble. Scott scored 25 runs off 19 balls with 2 fours and a six while Ross added 22 runs off 21 balls including a four.
Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali, batting down the order, remained unbeaten with a six off six balls and a four.
For the Stars, Tom Curran and Harris Rauff led the bowling. Curran took three wickets for 35 runs in his four overs, while Raoob was equally good with figures of 3/28.
In reply, the Melbourne Stars team reached the target by losing 4 wickets in 18.1 overs. Sam Harper scored 55 off 36 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to win the match.
Opener Joe Clarke scored 23 off 19 balls and Campbell Kellaway 28 off 22 balls. Captain Marcus Stoinis played aggressively and scored 32 runs off 22 balls including 3 fours and a six.
Hasan Ali battled the ball for the Strikers, dismissing Kellaway and Glenn Maxwell, but his efforts were not enough to prevent his side from slipping to defeat.
With the win, the Stonis-led Stars remain unbeaten in BBL 15, with two wins from two matches and a healthy net run rate of 1.541 at the top of the points table.