Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars by one run in WBBL thriller
Ellyse Perry scored an unbeaten 84, and Sarah Coyte defended eight runs in the final over to keep the Sixers unbeaten.
Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars by one run in a Women's Big Bash League match on Friday, Cricket Australia said.
Ellyse Perry made an unbeaten 84 off 57 balls, lifting the Sixers to 5-160 at Junction Oval just three days after her 36th birthday.
In reply, Dani Gibson scored 31 off 20 balls and Georgia Prestwidge made 21 not out off 13, keeping the Stars in contention with four wickets in hand.
The Stars needed eight runs from the final over, which was bowled by Sarah Coyte.
Gibson was caught in the deep, leaving the Stars needing seven off four balls, and Coyte then missed a chance to run out Kim Garth before tightening her bowling so that four runs were needed off the last ball.
Prestwidge could only push the final delivery weakly through the onside for two, and Perry fielded the ball and returned it quickly to prevent overthrows.
The Stars finished on 7-159, and the result gave the Sixers a perfect 3-0 record, while the Stars are at 1-3.
"It's nice to get on a roll, but the key thing is to keep improving," Perry said.
Perry added that the team played well but some areas were rusty, saying, "It's really nice to win those close ones, but we've got improvement in us."
Coyte's final over was her second match-winning death bowling performance this season, after she hit the final ball for a boundary to give the Sixers a four-wicket win over the Brisbane Heat a week earlier.
Her figures of 1-27 off three overs did not stand out, but she took 1-6 in the final over, which was decisive.
"Sarah Coyte with the ball in hand is really calm and collected," Sixers pace bowler Lauren Cheatle said on the broadcast.
The Women's Big Bash League is Australia's professional women's Twenty20 competition, and this match was part of the WBBL|12 season.