Twitter Reactions: Haris Rauf's hat-trick guides Melbourne Stars to their fourth consecutive win in BBL 2019-20

Melbourne Stars came face to face against Sydney Thunder in the 28th match of Big Bash League. The game between the two heavyweights turned out to be a one-sided affair due to the impressive performances given by Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and the new sensation Haris Rauf. Maxwell and Co. registered their fourth consecutive win in the ongoing tournament. It was a great day for the bowlers in Big Bash League as two bowlers in different games managed to pull off a brilliant hat-trick.

After winning the toss, Stars skipper Maxwell elected to bowl. Thunder openers Usman Khawaja (33 runs off 27 balls) and Alex Hales (26 runs off 28 balls) stitched a brilliant partnership of 56 runs. The duo looked in flow with the bat and they were piling runs in an elegant fashion against the opponent bowlers.

Harris Rauf shines in Melbourne Stars victory

Nathan Coulter-Nile helped Stars in getting their first breakthrough as he dismissed Khawaja in the 9th over of the innings. The left-handed batsman attempted a pull but failed to middle the ball due to which he was caught by Nick Larkin at deep square leg.  Thunder skipper Callum Ferguson and Matthew Gilkes played some efficient knocks as the former smashed 35 runs off 27 balls and latter managed 41 runs off 35 balls.

In the last over of the innings, Haris Rauf pulled off a brilliant hattrick as he dismissed Matthew Gilkes, Daniel Sams and Callum Ferguson on back to back deliveries. His brilliant last over helped Stars in restricting Thunder to a nominal score of 145 runs for the loss of five wickets in stipulated 20 overs. The right-arm fast bowler registered brilliant bowling figures of 3/23 at the end of the innings.

Coming on the chase, the Stars got off to a poor start as their opener Nic Maddinson got run-out after scoring 13 runs. But, on the other hand, Marcus Stoinis was playing at his best as he muscled a brilliant half-century in the game. In a surprising decision, the hosts sent Nathan Coulter-Nile to bat at number three but their move backfired as he could only manage to score 11 runs before getting dismissed off Daniel Sams.

Later on, Stoinis (50 runs off 44 balls) stitched a much-needed partnership with his skipper Glenn Maxwell (59* runs off 37 balls) that took the match away from Sydney Thunder. However, Stoinis failed to end the game for his side and he was dismissed by Jonathan Cook in the 14th over of the innings.

Melbourne Stars successfully chased the target of 145 runs with 19 balls to spare. Also, Haris Rauf was awarded Man of the Match for giving an astonishing performance with the ball for his team.

Here is how Twitter reacted: