Having restricted the Renegades to 145, the Melbourne Stars looked to be cruising to victory when they were 93 for no loss inside the 13th over before they suffered a monumental collapse to let the Renegades back into the match...
Melbourne Renegades batsman Tom Cooper has spoken about how close they were to accepting defeat in the Big Bash final against the Melbourne Stars.
Having restricted the Renegades to 145, the Stars looked to be cruising to victory when they were 93 for no loss inside the 13th over.
A monumental collapse from the Stars saw the match slip out of their grasp in dramatic fashion, and Cooper has confessed how not even the Renegades captain Aaron Finch believed it possible.
"With seven overs to go, Finchy openly said he was an over away from giving up," he remarked.
"We thought we’d have one more crack and brought Richo (Kane Richardson) back into the attack. We hoped that if we could get a couple of wickets we might get an opportunity.
Tom Cooper and Dan Christian shared a stand of 80 for the sixth wicket
"For it to happen like that, I don’t think anyone saw that coming."
Cooper was one half of a vital partnership with allrounder Dan Christian. The pair put on 80 for the sixth wicket, taking the Renegades score from 65 for 5 to their final total of 145 for 5.
"We’ve got a habit of losing four or five wickets early against the Stars," the 32-year-old explained.
"Myself and Dan just wanted a put a total on the board so they had to win the game as opposed to us losing the game.
"To be honest, we probably haven’t soaked in what happened. I think we’re still asking ourselves how we’ve got away with that. But I’m sure over the next few days that will all sink in."
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