Josh Brown star as Renegades clinch Melbourne Derby

Josh Brown's scintillating 84 off 48 balls powered Melbourne Renegades to a much-needed four-wicket victory in the Melbourne derby, helping the Renegades snap their three-match losing streak. Chasing 174, Brown delivered a masterclass in aggressive batting, smashing nine fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 175 to set up the chase. His 103-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan (41 off 38) proved decisive as the Renegades overhauled the target with just one ball to spare. Earlier, the Stars had stuttered to 173/9 despite Tom Curran's blistering late cameo of 38 off 18 balls. After winning the toss and opting to bowl, the Renegades struck early through Gurinder Sandhu, who finished with figures of 4/41, consistently troubling the Stars' batting lineup. Sam Harper (20 off 10) and Thomas Rogers (15 off 13) gave the Stars a decent start before Sandhu removed Harper in the third over. The home side never quite got going as wickets fell at regular intervals - Maxwell departed for just 1, while captain Stoinis could only manage 16. Campbell Kellaway's patient 33 off 27 and Hilton Cartwright's 28 off 19 provided some stability, but it was Curran's late assault - featuring 5 fours and 2 sixes - that propelled the Stars to a competitive total. Debutant Callum Stow impressed with 2/24 from his four overs. Haris Rauf removed Tim Seifert for 6 in the third over of the chase. However, Brown unleashed a counter-attack, reaching his fifty off just 30 balls. He found an able ally in Rizwan as the pair took control of the middle overs. Renegades were cruising at one stage with Josh Brown playing superbly for his 84 off just 48 balls. They needed just 46 off six overs when he was dismissed and there were still eight wickets in hand. But his dismissal by Mitchell Swepson sparked a dramatic turnaround with Stars roaring back into the contest with 4 wickets for just 21 runs. But Renegades captain Will Sutherland delivered the goods in the final over with a couple of cracking sixes to get them over the line. For the Stars, it was a second consecutive defeat after four straight wins to begin the season.