Two wickets for Rishad not enough as Stars cruise past Hurricanes

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain opened his Big Bash League account with two wickets but it was not enough for Hobart Hurricanes who suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Melbourne Stars at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.

Rishad struck early to break Melbourne's opening stand, removing Thomas Rogers (30 off 18 balls) to give his side the first breakthrough in the final over of the Powerplay. The 21-year-old followed it up in his second over by dismissing Joe Clarke, putting the Stars under pressure after a solid start.

Although Rishad picked up two wickets in his first two overs, his third proved expensive, conceding 19 runs. He finished with figures of two wickets for 33 runs from three overs. Due to the costly third over, the Hurricanes captain chose not to complete Rishad's full quota. Despite that, he remained the most successful bowler for his side on the day.

Chasing a target of 159, Melbourne got off to a strong start through openers Clarke and Rogers, with the latter batting aggressively from the outset. Rishad broke the 46-run opening partnership by removing Rogers. He then struck again in his next over to send Clarke back to the pavilion.

However, Rishad's breakthroughs were not backed up by the rest of the bowling unit, as the Hurricanes failed to take another wicket. Marcus Stoinis (62 off 31 balls) and Campbell Kellaway (41 off 27 balls) steadied the chase after the early loss of two wickets and guided Melbourne Stars to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.