A maiden Twenty20 century from Sam Harper has led the Melbourne Stars to a dominant victory over the Sydney Sixers as the form of Pakistan international Babar Azam has gone from bad to worse.
Chasing down a modest total of 144, the Melbourne Stars looked like they were in a difficult position at the crease after they lost international opener Joe Clark in the opening over for a duck.
But, from that point on, it was the 'Sam Harper show'.
After scoring 55 runs in his previous innings, the 29-year-old wicket-keeper took it to the Sixers bowlers from the get-go as they cruised to a seven-wicket victory and stayed on top of the Big Bash League (BBL) ladder.
Beating his previous highest score of 89, Harper notched up an outstanding 110 from 60 which included 18 boundaries - six of them being maximums over the boundary rope.
As Harper led the spoils for the Stars who won even without Glenn Maxwell or Marcus Stoinis reaching the crease, the same can't be said for Sixers opener Babar Azam who failed to register double digits for the third time in four matches this season.
Signed by the Sydney Sixers as one of the BBL's most high-profile signings in recent memory, Azam only lasted seven deliveries out in the middle before making his way back to the dressing room in the second over of the match.
A global superstar of the cricket game, the Pakistan international has notched up scores of 2, 9 and 2, with his only solid score being 58 runs against the Sydney Thunder over the weekend against an ordinary bowling line-up and favoured batting wicket.
While Azam's struggles continued, the Sixers had to rely on their other opener, Daniel Hughes, who scored a team-high 60 runs before being caught by Campbell Kellaway off ex-teammate Tom Curran.
The shining light of the magenta's batting innings, no other member of the squad made over 20 runs, with Curran and Peter Siddle taking three wickets apiece.
Match Summary
Sydney Sixers (Daniel Hughes 60, Moises Henriques 18; Peter Siddle 3/23, Tom Curran 3/26) defeated by Melbourne Stars (Sam Harper 110, Jonathan Merlo 14; Joel Davis 2/16) by seven wickets
