Sydney Sixers 134 for 7 (day 5-25) beat Melbourne Stars 51 for 6 (Tryon 3-2) for four runs (DLS method)
Sydney Sixers went from removing the covers in a bid to allow play to resume to recording a rain-affected four-run WBBL victory over Melbourne Stars.
Staring down the barrel of defeat during a long pause in play, the Sixers returned to the field to orchestrate one of Wednesday’s great comebacks.
Trailing by a run when lightning struck near Ringwood in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, the Sixers looked shot at with the Stars 44 for 3 after 5.4 overs.
But when the rain eased, the Sixers players emerged in their magenta uniforms to help the field staff prepare the field and give enough time for 1.2 more overs to be bowled.
Even then, the Sixers looked behind the eight ball, and the Stars emerged needing 12 eight balls to take the win.
Maia Bouchier then hit five of Ellyse Perry’s next two balls, to nearly take Stars home.
She then bowled a dot ball to Kim Garth, gave up a single and Annabel Sutherland was caught on the boundary off the last ball to finish on 3 for 2 and claim the four-run win.
The win is a big boost to the Sixers’ hopes of reaching the finals, putting them in fifth place in the standings with a 3-5 record.
The Stars, on the other hand, will likely need to win at least six of their final seven games to have any hope of reaching the semifinals.
The 25-year-old took key wickets from the Sixers’ three most successful batsmen – Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Suzie Bates.
She also removed opener Maitlan Brown, while stopping the Sixers’ momentum late on with the wicket of Mathilda Carmichael for 9.
But Lauren Cheatle was able to put pressure on Stars early in their chase before lightning struck, going 2 for 13.
Linsey Smith also removed Meg Lanning for a five-ball duck, before Alice Capsey 21 off 14 and Bouchier 19 put Stars back in the hunt and set up the exciting finish.