Adelaide Strikers defeat Melbourne Stars by 5 wickets, Adam Zampa's 2-20 goes in vain

Adelaide Strikers clinched their 5th BBL win of the season when they beat Melbourne Stars by five wickets. The Strikers successfully chased the target of 150 in 19 overs with crucial contributions by Phil Salt (31), Jonathan Wells (36) and Ryan Gibson (22*).

With this latest defeat, Melbourne Stars have lost five of their last six BBL games.

Adelaide Strikers move to 3rd spot on the BBL table with win

Chasing 150 to get their 5th BBL win of the season, the Strikers lost their opener, Matt Renshaw, in the fourth over, for just 9. Phil Salt and Alex Carey then got together and took the score to 58. Glenn Maxwell's part-time off-spin broke that partnership as Salt tried to take the spinner on, but failed to clear the man at deep cover.

Adam Zampa then picked up the crucial wicket of Alex Carey in the 10th over when the score was 65. The Melbourne Stars claimed the BBL Boost point as they were two runs ahead of the Strikers at the halfway stage. It was criminal for the Adelaide Strikers to miss out on that point after the decent start they had.

The Strikers needed 54 from the last six overs, and they took their BBL Power Surge at that point. They managed 20 runs off those two overs and lost the wicket of Jake Weatherald.

Adam Zampa bowled a tight 17th over where he gave away just four runs. However, the Strikers scored 18 runs in the next over which Haris Rauf bowled. He dismissed Jonathan Wells for 36, but by then, the Adelaide Strikers had the match under control. In the end, Rashid Khan and Ryan Gibson saw their team home with an over to spare.

Huge moment, huge catch! 16 from 13 required as Rashid Khan comes to the crease... 👀 #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/mf1H0qNKuL

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 11, 2021

Melbourne Stars stutter to reach 149-7 in their 20 overs

Earlier, the Melbourne Stars won the toss and decided to bat first. West Indies import Andre Fletcher's poor BBL season continued as he could manage only run-a-ball 12. Fletcher was dismissed off a full toss as he failed to clear the mid-on fielder.

Nick Larkin and Marcus Stoinis took the scoreboard forward, but Rashid Khan quickly cleaned up Larkin with a wrong 'un. Captain Glenn Maxwell departed off the first ball as he tried to go after Khan, but the Afghanistan spinner got the better of him. After ten overs, the Stars were 67-3.

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Rashid Khan gets Glenn Maxwell out ... FIRST BALL!#BBL10 | @BKTtires pic.twitter.com/LqHnedu3Ex

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 11, 2021

Stoinis was dismissed at the wrong moment as Wes Agar's short ball in the 12th over did the trick. The Australian all-rounder was given a life earlier, but he couldn't really punish the Adelaide Strikers as he departed for a well-made 47 off 31 balls.

The Stars finally took their BBL Power Surge in the 16th over, and the two overs yielded 16 runs. Nic Maddinson almost single-handedly carried the Stars towards a respectable total with his late assault. The left-hander scored an unbeaten 48 that included two sixes, which he hit on the last two balls of the Melbourne Stars' innings.

However, the Adelaide Strikers chased the total of 150 with relative ease even though the Stars had a decent chance at one point in the second innings.

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Brief BBL score: Melbourne Stars 149-7 (Maddinson 48, Agar 2-19). Adelaide Strikers 150-5 in 19 overs (Wells 36, Zampa 2-20). The Strikers won by 5 wickets.