Lanning ton, Garth four-fer seals 111-run (DLS) win for Stars

Meg Lanning smashed an imperious 135 as the Melbourne Stars handed the Sydney Sixers a brutal 111-run (DLS) defeat at North Sydney Oval. Her 74-ball masterpiece, studded with 26 boundaries (22 fours, four sixes) – the most ever in a WBBL innings – powered the Stars to 219, the third-highest total in the tournament's history. The drama only escalated in the rain-affected chase, where the Sixers were skittled for 42 while pursuing a revised target, with Kim Garth ripping through them for scarcely believable figures of 4 for 3. The Stars climbed to third with their second win in four games, boosted by a hefty NRR of +3.269.

Having opted to chase in the second fixture of the double-header, the Sixers were made to toil as Lanning and Sophie McKenna put on a commanding 159-run opening stand. McKenna's 50 off 34 was played in the slipstream of Lanning's brilliance, and while a couple of late wickets – including that of Lanning's in the final over – momentarily slowed the scoring, nothing stopped the Stars from piling on a towering total.

With a mountain on the board, the Stars wasted no time in burying the Sixers beneath it. Garth tore through the top order in a stunning burst, removing Sophia Dunkley and Alyssa Healy with her first two balls in a wicket-maiden. She then knocked over Ellyse Perry with the first delivery of her next over and also accounted for Elsa Hunter, leaving the Sixers reeling at 21 for 4 when rain stopped play.

Resuming with a 10-over chase, the Sixers lost three wickets in seven balls to slide to 27 for 7, flirting dangerously with the lowest total in WBBL history – the Stars' own 29 vs Adelaide Strikers two years ago. They avoided that particular indignity, but only just, finishing with an embarrassing 42 all out to cap a night thoroughly dominated by Lanning and the Stars.

Brief scores: Melbourne Stars 219/4 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 135, Rhys McKenna 50; Ash Gardner 1-36) beat Sydney Sixers 42 in 7.4 overs (Kim Garth 4-3, Sophie Day 2-6) by 111 runs (DLS Method)