Vince's brilliant century leads Sydney Sixers to record-breaking chase

This record chase, which is the eighth-largest in BBL history and the highest ever at the SCG, kept the Sixers undefeated after three matches

PHOTO:AFP

James Vince played a stunning knock, scoring a brilliant century to help Sydney Sixers chase down a target of 195 with 11 balls to spare, defeating Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Vince's unbeaten 101 off 58 balls at the SCG powered the Sixers to victory in one of the most dominant chases in BBL history. This record chase, which is the eighth-largest in BBL history and the highest ever at the SCG, kept the Sixers undefeated after three matches. Meanwhile, the Melbourne Stars remained winless after four games, and their hopes of reaching the finals are quickly fading.

At the start of the match, it was the Stars who appeared to be in control in front of a crowd of 23,212. Ben Duckett was in explosive form, scoring 68 from just 29 balls. Duckett became only the second player in BBL history to hit six fours in a single over, taking down spinner Akeal Hosein with powerful shots. He also launched a big slog-sweep for six off Todd Murphy to bring up his half-century off just 22 balls.

Despite Duckett's fireworks, the Stars fell short. They were 126 for 3 after 10.2 overs but slowed down as Murphy and Ben Dwarshuis tightened the bowling. The Stars managed only 16 runs in their two power surge overs and couldn’t recover from there.

The Sixers’ chase, on the other hand, was swift and clinical. Vince and Josh Philippe put on an opening partnership of 83 in just eight overs. In the second half of the innings, Vince and Jordan Silk added 35 runs in their two power surge overs, with Vince taking on Maxwell in particular.

Vince struck four sixes in his knock, including two off Glenn Maxwell and others off Tom Curran and Doug Warren. He also hit 12 boundaries, which helped maintain the Sixers’ strong momentum in the chase.

Vince’s 57-ball century made him the second player to score a century for the Sixers, after missing out on one in the 2021 final. His fantastic knock led the Sixers to their memorable win and left the Stars with plenty to reflect on.