BBL 2019-20: Qualifier 01, Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers – Stars' lowest total, Rauf's record season, A low-scoring BBL game at the MCG and more stats

Sydney Sixers became the first team to qualify for the finals of the BBL 2019-20 as they thumped the table-toppers Melbourne Stars by 43 runs. The Sixers, who batted first, were restricted to 142/7 having scored only 48 runs from the last 8 overs. The Sydney bowlers made life tough for the Melbourne Stars who kept struggling in the chase. They kept losing wickets in the first half and were reduced to 55/6 by 11th over. Clinton Hinchliffe scored an unbeaten 25-ball 25 but couldn’t take the team past the 100-run mark.

All the statistical highlights from the low-scoring 1st qualifier match at the MCG:

Lowest BBL total for the Stars:

99/10 – The total of 99 against the Sixers is the lowest total in the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars and in fact their first sub-100 total in the league. The previous lowest total of the Stars in the BBL was 115 against the Brisbane Heat in the last week’s match at the MCG

241 – A total of 241 runs were scored by both the teams in this game; the 2nd fewest in a BBL match at the MCG. (Unaffected matches only) The lowest aggregated BBL match at the MCG is the 2013-14 season match between the hosts and Adelaide Strikers. The Stars chased down the target of 91 set by Strikers in only 7.3 overs only.

Rauf on top of Stars’ list:

17 – Haris Rauf has picked up 17 wickets in this Big Bash League across eight matches; the most number of wickets for Melbourne Stars in a BBL edition. Rauf went past John Hasting’s 16 wickets in 8 matches during the 2014/15 season. Adam Zampa also claimed 16 wickets in the ongoing tournament across 10 matches.

Maxwell goes past Wright:

755 – Glenn Maxwell aggregated 755 runs in the Big Bash League at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. These are the most BBL runs by any player at the MCG surpassing Luke Wright’s 754 runs. Only Aaron Finch (1108 runs @ Docklands) and Chris Lynn (1047 runs @ Gabba) scored more BBL runs at a venue than Maxwell.

Hughes @ 50:

50 – The game on Friday against the Stars was Daniel Hughes’ 50th BBL appearance for the Sydney Sixers. He is now the 7th player to feature in as many as 50 BBL games for the Sixers. He was out stumped for the 5th time in the BBL history; the most stumping dismissals for any player.

Henriques goes part Finch:

57 – Moises Henriques has led Sydney Sixers in 57 matches in the Big Bash League; the most capped skipper in the BBL. He went past Aaron Finch’s 56 matches as captain of Melbourne Renegades.