Brad Hogg
Brad Hogg

Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars –

In a rain-marred game between the two teams, Melbourne Renegades surprised everyone by sending Sunil Narine to open the innings and the gamble paid off well as he played an innings of 21 off just 13 deliveries. To take a note, he had the best strike-rate for his team (161.53).

Narine provided a decent start to the team, sharing 38 runs for the first wicket before being dismissed. After his wicket, skipper Aaron Finch took charge as Stars motored along. However, it was his innings of 64* by Cameron White that made the difference in the end. The contribution of 36 runs from Tom Copper at strike rate of 144.00 was also of utmost importance for the team which helped them put up a big total on the board.

Meanwhile, watch this funny video of Ben Hilfenhaus’ run-out

Just like Renegades, Melbourne too played a gamble by sending in Glenn Maxwell to open the innings but it was a failed attempt as he was dismissed on a score of 1. Kevin Pietersen landed from commentary box to the playing field but he too failed to make a difference as he just made the contribution of 15. Regular wickets by Renegades bowlers and three crucial run-outs during the later part of the game helped Renegades to win the game at the end of the day.

Brad Hogg was awarded the Man of the Match award for taking three crucial wickets in the game.

 

Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Thunder – 
Perth Scorchers, who were playing at home, went on to win yet another game, this one by a big margin as they crushed Sydney Thunder by 50 runs.
They did not have a good start as Shaun Marsh, who is still on selectors’ radar for the return in Test squad, failed. Marsh was dismissed for just four runs. Michael Klinger and Ian Bell took charge and shared 85 runs for a second wicket in almost 10 runs. Despite losing an early wicket, the batsman who followed batsmen did not let the run rate fall.
Mitchell Marsh also played a crucial role as the all-rounder played an innings of 44 to give a great end to the innings as Perth notched up a score of 178.
Perth bowlers continued their good performance as once gain they were quick to make inroads to acquire an early advantage in the game. The impact can be judged by the fact that half of the opposition team was back to the pavilion with a score of 48 on the board with only half the overs being bowled.
Ashton Agar sans bowling line-up continued to decimate Sydney’s batting line-up and stopped them on 127/8, winning the game by a margin of 50 runs. Mitchell Marsh was awarded Man of the Match for scoring at such a fast pace and also grabbing a wicket in the game.