SYDNEY, Australia, CMC-IANS – A half-century from Dwayne Bravo inspired the Sydney Sixers and was one of the cornerstones in a two-run victory over the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash Twenty20 League yesterday.
In easily his most satisfactory performance, the Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies all-rounder opened the innings, hitting the top score of 52 from 39 balls, leading the Sixers to 166 for nine from their allocation of 20 overs after they chose to bat.
Bravo did not bowl, but he was not needed, as the Sixers restricted the Stars to 164 for eight from 20 overs in a tense finish at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Stars’ tail-ender Clint McKay had the chance to be a hero, needing to hit the final delivery of the match from Brett Lee for four to win – but he could only manage a single.
The Stars needed 15 from the final over and had given themselves a golden chance after hitting two boundaries to bring the target down to five off two balls – but the experienced Lee held his nerve to give the Sixers a memorable win.
The result gave the Sixers their second victory in three matches, taking them to four points, provisionally placing them third behind the unbeaten Hobart Hurricanes and cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder – both on the same number of points with one match in hand.
Bravo will play his final match next Monday, when the Sixers travel to face the Melbourne Renegades at Docklands Stadium before returning home to help his native T&T regain the Caribbean T20 title . The run-outs of David Hussey for 42 and Adam Voges for 31 proved to be the downfall of the Stars.
Discarded Australia leg-spin all-rounder Steven Smith starred with the ball in front of a boisterous 27,590 home fans, taking two wickets and giving away just 29 runs from his allotted four overs.
Earlier, Bravo stepped up after playing like a passenger for the first two matches, striking four fours and three sixes to give the Sixers innings early momentum.
Quick-fire innings of 29 apiece from Ben Rohrer and Dominic Thornely, as well as 24 from Nic Maddinson took the Sixers to a respectable total.
Bravo gathered steam in the third over, bowled by James Faulkner, when he struck the left-arm medium-fast bowler for three boundaries.
He pulled the short, first delivery through mid-wicket, lofted the third ball to the long-off boundary, and pulled the penultimate delivery through backward square leg. Bravo would also have taken great delight, smoking Shane Warne for all of sixes – the last of which sailed over long-on to take him to his 50 from 37 balls before he was caught at long-off two balls later off the Australian leg-spin bowling legend in the 15th over.
Summarised scores:
SYDNEY SIXERS 166 for nine off 20 overs (Dwayne Bravo 52, Ben Rohrer 29, Dominic Thornely 29, Nic Maddinson 24; David Hussey 2-25, Clint McKay 2-35)
MELBOURNE STARS 164 for eight off 20 overs (David Hussey 42, George Bailey 33, Adam Voges 31; Steve Smith 2-27)
