Big Bash Daily: Khan shines in farewell appearance as Strikers ease past Stars

Rashid Khan took two crucial wickets as Adelaide Strikers chased down Melbourne Stars with an over to spare

Rashid Khan shines in farewell appearance

Rashid Khan bowed out of BBL10 in style, taking two key wickets to set up a routine victory for Adelaide Strikers over a sub-par Melbourne Stars in his final match before international duty.

After Wes Agar struck early to remove Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis and Nick Larkin built a promising 35-run second-wicket partnership before Khan flipped the game on its head.

Bowling Larkin with the penultimate ball of the ninth over, Khan had Glenn Maxwell caught for a golden duck by Danny Briggs off the following delivery to tip momentum back in the Strikers favour.

Stoinis contributed a gutsy 31-ball 47, including four 4s and three 6s, before being caught by Jake Weatherald off Wes Agar in 12th over, and from there, the Stars crumbled.

Hilton Cartwright, Seb Gotch and Adam Zampa were dismissed cheaply to leave Stars on 111-6 with two overs remaining. However, Nick Maddinson’s 34-ball 48 – including two sixes off the final two balls – ensured the Stars finished on a flattering 149-6.

^{Rashid Khan celebrates taking a wicket with Danny Briggs against Melbourne Stars}

Needing 150 to win, Adelaide made hard work of the chase, missing the Bash Boost point by two runs and struggling to score during Zampa and Maxwell’s eight early overs of spin.

However, requiring 30 off 18 balls, John Wells burst into action, smashing Haris Rauf for two 4s and a six off the first four balls of the 18th over. Wells was dismissed that same over (caught Larkin) but that only served to give Strikers fans the fairy tale ending they desired.

Entering the crease to roars of appreciation, Khan contributed four runs alongside Ryan Gibson (22) to steer the Strikers to a convincing five-wicket victory with an over to spare.

Khan exits the tournament with an impressive 16 wickets at 6.87 and a huge 93 dot balls, second only to teammate Agar. The big question now is how will the Strikers fare without their Afghan talisman?

Dan Worrall steps up in Peter Siddle’s absence

Prior to this fixture, the Agar-Khan-Siddle axis had yielded an impressive 42 wickets in nine matches. With Siddle sidelined after sustaining a thumb injury against Melbourne Renegades, there were some sizeable shoes to fill in the bowling attack.

However, Dan Worrall proved equal to the task. The 29-year old Victorian bowled an early maiden before taking two crucial power surge wickets (Gotch and Zampa) to finish the match with respectable figures of 2-28.

Player of the match Agar rounded off a good day for the Strikers bowlers with two wickets at 4.75 to draw level with Jhye Richardson at the top of the Golden Arm standings.

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

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

Stars poor form continues

After a poor end to 2020, Melbourne Stars would have been hoping for a brighter 2021. Defeating Hobart Hurricanes by 10 runs on January 4, including an impressive 97 not out from Stoinis, they appeared to have their mojo back.

However, following a rain-shortened defeat against Brisbane Heat, Stars looked out of sorts again against the Strikers. Maxwell’s side have slipped to seventh in the table after winning just one of their last five fixtures and now find themselves in real danger of missing the knockout phase.

Several players could be pulled up for poor recent performances, but perhaps the greatest concern is the form of West Indian opener Andre Fletcher. The Spiceman has scored just 99 runs in nine matches at an average of 12.38 and fell inside the powerplay again on Monday.

With five crucial group games remaining, the Stars might need to consider reshuffling their order to ease the burden on Stoinis at the top, unless Fletcher can rediscover his magic.

Adam Zampa up to fifth on all-time wicket-taker list

In a bad day at the office for the Stars, Zampa has a personal milestone to celebrate. His two wickets in Adelaide saw him move up to fifth in the competition’s all-time wicket-taking chart, leapfrogging James Faulkner. The 28-year old has taken 81 wickets in 70 Big Bash appearances and is now only one behind Perth Scorchers bowler Andrew Tye in fourth position.

^{Adam Zampa celebrates one of his two wickets against Adelaide Strikers}

Tomorrow: Resurgent Scorchers host Hobart Hurricanes

Perth Scorchers are the BBL’s form team and head into their clash with the Hurricanes off the back of four straight victories. Colin Munro been the star for the Scorchers in recent weeks, aided by the return to form of openers Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy.

Their opponents, meanwhile, are looking to end a run of two successive defeats to remain in contention for one of the all-important top two berths.  The Hurricanes, who would go third with a victory, posted just 128/8 against Sydney last Thursday (January 7) and will be hoping for fireworks from Malan and co. at the WACA to arrest their slump.