Vince and Murphy lead Sixers past Stars and to the second spot
Stars were in the game at various points, but Murphy first and then Vince and Hughes took the game away from them
Stars were in the game at various points, but Murphy first and then Vince and Hughes took the game away from them
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
10:30pm Right. That will be all from us. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. We will be back tomorrow with more BBL action as the table-topping Brisbane Heat take on the Hobart Hurricanes. Until then, this is me (Shashwat) saying goodbye on behalf of Ranjith and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care!
James Vince is the Player of the Match, this is what he has to say: (On the win) It was good. The bowlers did a fantastic job in the second half. I don't think it was the easiest wicket but 156 was a good effort from where they were. (On the partnership between him and Hughes) I would not say we mastered it (the pitch) but it was a sort of a pitch where you did not want to let the run rate go too high. 12-13 runs per over at the back end would have been tough. (On scoring against the Stars again) I have not been scoring too many runs in the tournament overall apart from that one innings against them, and conditions have been reasonably tricky. It was a bit sluggish but reasonably true tonight. Happy to score runs. (On peaking at the right time) You want to peak at the back end of the tournament. We don't play until next Friday, and then we have a game on Sunday, hopefully we have saved our best for the finals. (On Todd Murphy) He is a top-class bowler. The lengths he hits and the way he found something out of the wicket, he bowled beautifully. (On the Sydney Smash and the return of Steve Smith) I usually get shunted down to three so maybe Smudge can come back and bat in the middle order (laughs). It would be great to have him back.
10:20pm A clinical run-chase, set up by Vince at the top of the order. He got off to a slightly sluggish start but grew as the innings progressed, not over-hitting and timing the ball beautifully. He found an able ally in Hughes, and that 99-run partnership knocked the stuffing out of the Stars.
Speaking of the Stars, they probably did not have enough runs on the board. 20 odd more, and they might have made a match out of this because there were phases where they were in with more than a shout. The Power Surge proved pivotal, though, as did the Stars' decision to bowl spin in both of those overs. Those overs went for 29 and that firmly tilted the scales in the Sixers' favour.
The Stars' four-game winning streak did come to an end, but they will know they have the tools to recover and make a dash for the playoffs. Their next assignment? The Melbourne Derby on January 13.
Paris to bowl what should, in all likelihood, be the last over of this game
Stars were in the game at various points, but Murphy first and then Vince and Hughes took the game away from them