Image Credit- Getty
Despite a third-ball duck, Aaron Finch had a
triumphant goodbye as his Melbourne Renegades team inflicted a severe damage to
local rivals Melbourne Stars’ prospects of making the BBL finals.
At Marvel Stadium, 41,205 spectators witnessed an
underwhelming conclusion as former Australia captain Finch came storming down
the pitch and skied an easy catch to his old friend Glenn Maxwell at mid-off.
Maxwell did not rejoice as Finch left to thunderous applause, raising his bat
to register the cheers from the fans.
Prior to the game, Finch, the Renegades’ all-time top
scorer, had his team jersey number retired. At least Renegades gave him a
fitting farewell. They chased the Stars’ 137 for 8 on a challenging pitch that
helped spinners and quicks, and they succeeded with six wickets and sixteen
balls remaining.
After faltering in the Power Surge, they rallied to
take Renegades off the bottom of the table with to an uninterrupted 46-run
stand spearheaded by seasoned Shaun Marsh (64 not out off 49 balls) and
Jonathan Wells (14 not out off 15).
After the defeat, Adelaide Strikers, who would secure
fourth place if they defeat Sydney Thunder in Canberra on Sunday, are one point
ahead of the fifth-placed Stars.
As the Stars seamers took advantage of the ideal
circumstances, Marsh and Jake Fraser-McGurk (42 off 31) played and missed
several times, but after Finch fell, they added 68 for the second wicket.
After scoring 16 runs in the tenth over, Renegades
seemed in command at 74 for 1. However, in the Power Surge that they launched
just after the mid-innings break, they lost three wickets.
In their respective innings, four Stars players scored
20 runs or more, but only Hilton Cartwright (38 off 30 balls) reached 30.
Renegades raced to 21 off the first two overs, but
quicks Rogers and Kane Richardson (2 for 17 off four overs) each claimed a
wicket with their opening delivery. Playing in the first of just two BBL games
for Renegades, West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein (2 for 18 from 4) extracted a
substantial turn from a receptive pitch.