Match Recap: Hurricanes defeat Stars

Match in a tweet: Hurricanes are through to the finals!! after last thrilling victory in the last over over the Stars.

The score: Melbourne Stars 8-135 (Lanning 81) in 20 overs lost to Hobart Hurricanes 6-136 (Knight 35) in 19.5 overs by four wickets.

The final over: The Hurricanes needed 12 off the last over to secure a berth in the final and knock out the Stars out of the finals hunt. Bowling the last over, Gemma Triscari sent down two accurate deliveries to push the equation out to nine from four balls for the Hurricanes. But Emma Thompson hit the third ball over the covers for a boundary and then with four required off two, Corinne Hall was the hero as she smashed Triscari down the ground for boundary that booked the Canes a spot in the finals. 

The innings: You simply can't keep a champion down for long. Meg Lanning returned to her ultimate best by striking a masterful 81 from 55 balls. Lanning made her intentions clear by charging down the pitch and hitting Amy Satterthwaite over ropes of the second over of the innings. The shot set the tone as she went on to crunch another nine boundaries, including seven in space of 10 balls to propel the Stars to competitive total of 8-135.

The Big three: It was collective effort from the Hurricanes batters to get them across the line. Heather Knight (35 from 26), Amy Satterthwaite (27 from 23) and Hayley Matthews (24 from 26) all laid the foundation for that dramatic last over finish. The 'Canes 'Big three' stood up and delivered when it mattered as they smashed 10 boundaries between them to ensure the Stars were always pack peddling. 

The onslaught: We have seen some brutal onslaughts during the WBBL|02 but the one from Meg Lanning today against the Hurricanes ranks right up there with the very best. The Stars skipper hit four consecutive boundaries and then followed that up in the next over with three in row, overall Lanning crunched seven fours in 10 balls – 28 runs from 10 balls.

The next stop: The Hurricanes will now head into the semi-finals next week, while the season is officially over for the Melbourne Stars.