Hurricanes clinch thriller to seal Challenger spot

Hobart Hurricanes defeated Melbourne Stars by three runs in a rain-affected Knockout match to secure their spot in the Challenger. They will face Sydney Sixers on Friday for a place in the final at the SCG. For the Stars, this marks another season of heartbreak as they remain the only side in the Big Bash yet to win the title.

After a rain delay of over two hours, the match was reduced to a 10-over contest. Stars won the toss and elected to field. Mitchell Owen hit a six in the first over before being dismissed. Tim Ward and Beau Webster then struck three boundaries in the second over.

Webster continued aggressively, hitting two more boundaries off Peter Siddle. Haris Rauf, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, dismissed Tim Ward. Ben McDermott responded with two fours off his first two balls. The middle overs (5-7) yielded only six runs. Nikhil Chaudhary then smashed three sixes in six balls off Rauf, who conceded 18 in the over but also claimed Chaudhary's wicket. Webster hit three sixes in the final over, propelling the Hurricanes to 114/5, with 50 runs coming from the last three overs.

In reply, the Stars faced two quiet overs before rain returned, further reducing their chase to seven overs. With two overs already bowled, the target was revised to 76 runs from 30 balls. Joe Clarke and Sam Harper scored 11 and 13 in the third and fourth overs respectively. Clarke hit consecutive boundaries off Riley Meredith before being dismissed for 31 off 17 balls.

With steady rain falling, 44 runs were needed from 15 balls. A boundary by Harper brought it down to 37 from 12 balls before he was retired out. Rishad Hossain bowled a tight penultimate over, leaving Stars needing 26 from the final over. Captain Marcus Stoinis hit the first ball for six but was caught on the next delivery. Needing 19 from four balls, Hilton Cartwright slammed 4, 4, and 6, leaving five required off the last ball. Mitchell Owen bowled a wide yorker, and Cartwright could only manage a single, handing the Hurricanes a three-run victory.

Brief Scores: Hobart Hurricanes 114/5 in 10 overs (Beau Webster 47, Nikhil Chaudhary 24; Haris Rauf 2-27) beat Melbourne Stars 81/4 in 7 overs (Joe Clarke 31, Hilton Cartwright 15*; Riley Meredith 2-19) by three runs (DLS).