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Kelly took four wickets in Scorchers’ defence of 196
Perth Scorchers 3 for 196 (Evans 69, Turner 47, Hobson 46, Rauf 2-38) beat Melbourne Stars 9 for 149 (Webster 63, Kelly 4-25) by 47 runs
Top-order runs proved the difference as Perth Scorchers took down Melbourne Stars in Thursday afternoon’s BBL clash in Geelong.
Remarkably, the wrong batter took strike following the 10-over drinks break and it paid accidental dividends for Scorchers, with Evans hitting two sixes in an over that went for 18 runs. It provided a huge lift for the Scorchers, who took 117 off the second 10 overs.
All Stars’ bowlers lacked impact, with only Haris Rauf taking multiple wickets.
As they looked to even the contest, Kelly drew a top-edge from Burns and dismissed him caught and bowled for 20. Plenty fell to returning star Glenn Maxwell but he sliced one from Peter Hatzoglou and went for 5, leaving Stars 3 for 69 at halfway,
Webster brought up his 50 in 38 balls but the required run-rate crept up above 14 runs an over, and he holed out deep on the off side for 63 with his wicket signalling the end of Stars’ resistance.
The red-hot Joe Clarke, who came in off the back of four straight 50s, batted down the order citing fatigue but only made 17. Kelly finished with the impressive figures of 4 for 25.