Tom Curran bowls Stars into the playoffs

Tom Curran took 4 for 10 - the second-best figures of this BBL season as Melbourne Stars barged into the Big Bash League playoffs with a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Adelaide Strikers at the MCG on Monday night. The English seamer's devastating bowling performance on a helpful pitch reduced the Strikers to a meagre 83, a total the Stars chased down with 29 balls to spare despite a late injury scare to captain Marcus Stoinis that will cause concerns for Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup.

After Stoinis won the toss and elected to field first, the Stars' bowlers exploited the MCG surface brilliantly to leave the Strikers in tatters from the outset. Alex Carey drove Curran aerially to mid-off in the second over, where Haris Rauf took a sharp diving catch to his left. Chris Lynn attempted to counter-attack but fell to a classic Curran slower ball that nipped back in, trapping him plumb in front for just two. When Peter Siddle extracted extra bounce to catch Matthew Short's edge, the Strikers were reeling at 14 for 3. Before the PowerPlay ended, they also fell to 21 for 4 with Jason Sangha falling to Curran.

At 40 for 5 by the drinks break, the Strikers were in freefall, and Mitchell Swepson ensured there would be no recovery. The leg-spinner dismissed Jamie Overton with a straighter one that crashed into the stumps before Hasan Ali holed out to deep mid-wicket first ball.

Harry Manenti fell to a clever Stoinis slower-ball yorker for 7, and when Lloyd Pope was stumped by Harper charging down the track at Swepson, the Strikers were nine down for just 55. Cameron Boyce provided brief entertainment with a counter-attacking 20 that included a six off Stoinis, but when he miscued to Glenn Maxwell at long-on in the 20th over, Adelaide had been bundled out for their lowest total of the season, and second-lowest in BBL history. Swepson's 3 for 22 complemented Curran's brilliance perfectly, while Stoinis chipped in with economical figures of 2 for 8 from 3.3 overs.

Chasing just 84 for victory, the Stars made a nervy start as Sam Harper fell to a spectacular diving catch by substitute fielder Mackenzie Harvey in the deep. Campbell Kellaway's poor run continued when he dragged Hasan straight to mid-on without scoring, leaving the hosts at 13 for 2. However, Thomas Rogers played the perfect anchor role, combining with Blake Macdonald for a steady partnership before Macdonald holed out for 11. Rogers then added 34 crucial runs with Stoinis, who looked in ominous touch before retiring hurt on 23 after being struck on the thumb by Liam Scott, sparking concerns with Australia's T20 World Cup campaign looming.

Rogers continued to guide the chase, accumulating 32 off 40 balls before falling to Overton with just seven runs needed. Curran, riding the wave of confidence from his exceptional bowling performance, fittingly finished the job in style, cracking two boundaries in a breezy four-ball cameo to seal the Stars' sixth win from nine matches and confirm their place in the finals, keeping alive their hopes of a maiden BBL title. Adelaide's hopes for the season, on the other hand, were officially extinguished by the crushing defeat.

Brief scores: Adelaide Strikers 83 in 19.3 overs (Tom Curran 4-10, Mitchell Swepson 3-22) lost to Melbourne Stars 86/4 in 15.1 overs (Thomas Rogers 32; Liam Scott 2-12) by six wickets