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Mathilda Carmichael gave the chase a vital lift after Stars had fought back
Perth Scorchers 6 for 123 beat Melbourne Stars 7 for 122 (Villani 84, Graham 3-16) by four wickets
Perth Scorchers scrambled to a final-ball victory to maintain their push to host a home grand final as the middle order produced an important display to overcome Melbourne Stars whose lingering slim hopes of the knockouts were ended.
A tense finish had Scorchers needing nine from the final over which came down to one off the last ball after Alana King was run out attempting a match-winning second. Taneale Peschel struck the final delivery straight to mid-off but Kim Garth missed the run-out attempt.
A rare double failure for Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney had put pressure on a Scorchers middle order now missing Chamari Athapaththu. When Heather Graham played on against Annabel Sutherland they were 3 for 39 in the ninth and Chloe Piparo’s departure left them needing 54 off 40 balls. However, Marizanne Kapp and Mathilda Carmichael, the latter with 30 off 20 balls, added 43 to put Scorchers on track before the finish became very tight.
Stars’ innings had a bizarre look to it, dominated by Elyse Villani‘s 84 off 66 balls with the next-best score being Sutherland’s 9. Despite Villani’s efforts they had struggled to lift the tempo after solid, wicketless powerplay. Kapp went at under three an over with 17 dot balls while King and Heather Graham combined to take 4 for 32 from their eight overs with 24 dots.
This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.