In the electrifying 11th match of BBL|15 on December 26, 2025, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Melbourne Stars crushed Sydney Sixers by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare, chasing down 145 in just 17.3 overs. Stars captain Marcus Stoinis opted to field first, setting the tone for a clinical performance that propelled the table-toppers to their third straight win. Sam Harper‘s unbeaten 110 off 60 balls, laced with 12 fours and six massive sixes, earned him Player of the Match honours in a Boxing Day blockbuster.
BBL|15: Melbourne Stars’ bowling stranglehold dismantles Sydney Sixers
Melbourne Stars’ bowlers delivered a masterclass, restricting Sydney Sixers to 144 all out in 20 overs at a run rate of just 7.20. Tom Curran spearheaded the attack with 3-26 from four overs, including the early scalp of Babar Azam for 2 in the second over and Daniel Hughes for 60, who anchored with eight fours and a six before falling at 90 runs in the 13th over. Peter Siddle claimed 3-23, mopping up Moises Henriques (18), Jordan Silk (12), and Joel Davies (8), while Marcus Stoinis (2-25) and Haris Rauf (1-37) chipped in to trigger a middle-order collapse—losing five wickets for 34 runs between overs 15 and 19.
Powerplay yielded only 22-1, with Hughes’ fifty off 34 balls providing brief hope, but the Sixers stuttered post-drinks at 76-2 after 10 overs, reaching 100 in 14.2 overs amid a batting Powerplay that cost 21-3. Ben Manenti‘s run-out at 144 sealed the innings, hampered by slow over-rate penalties forcing extra fielders inside the circle late on, exposing vulnerabilities on a SCG pitch favouring disciplined lines.
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BBL|15: Sam Harper’s explosive century seals emphatic chase against Sydney Sixers
Harper unleashed fury in the chase, remaining not out on 110 from 60 balls at a staggering 183.33 strike rate, smashing his century off 50 deliveries with 11 fours and six sixes. After Joe Clarke‘s golden duck off Sean Abbott in the second ball, Harper and Campbell Kellaway raced to 55-1 by the seventh over, Harper blasting fifty off 28 balls including a 50-run stand in 28 balls during Powerplay (30-1).
Kellaway (14) departed at 55, but Harper-Jonathan Merlo added fifty in 42 balls, surging past 100 in 12.1 overs before Merlo holed out for 14 at 139. Tom Curran (2*) guided home the two needed, with Joel Davies’ 2-16 the lone Sixers highlight amid wayward lines from Kane Richardson (0-41 off two). Harper’s onslaught not only avenged prior Sixers clashes but solidified Stars’ ladder lead, signalling title credentials in BBL|15.
Three wins in three matches, The Melbourne Stars remain undefeated in BBL 15 ⚡#BBL2025 #MelbourneStars pic.twitter.com/u2dteySCrQ
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) December 26, 2025
