Sydney Sixers won toss, opted to field against Melbourne Renegades
Sean Abbott returned figures of 3 for 16 to help limit Renegades to 164-run total
Babar Azam hit unbeaten 58 to take Sixers to easy win
Sydney Sixers defeated Melbourne Renegades by six wickets in match No. 18 of the Big Bash League 2025–26 at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Thursday (January 1). The Sixers thus notched up their 10th consecutive win over the Renegades.
Pakistan batter Babar Azam hit an unbeaten 58 from 46 balls to help the Sixers chase down Renegades' 165-run target in 19.1 overs. Joel Davies cracked an undefeated 34 from 15 balls to support Babar, while all-rounder Sean Abbott earlier was the rock with the ball, managing a seriously economic 3 for 16 from his four overs to claim Player-of-the-Match honours.
"It was a pretty tough wicket there (for batting)," Abbott told Fox Cricket. "Babar had to go through a few different stages in that innings, but once we got up and going with a couple of partnerships, it looked like he did it in first gear."
The Renegades arrived on a two-match losing streak after opening their campaign with a 14-run victory. Both defeats came against defending champions Hobart Hurricanes, with the side failing to defend their totals.
The Sixers, led by Moises Henriques, endured a mixed start to the season. Narrow last-over defeats in their first two games were followed by a commanding 47-run win over Sydney Thunder, before a seven-wicket loss in their last outing after batting first.
Melbourne Renegades Vs Sydney Sixers, Big Bash League 2025-26: Toss Update And Playing XIs
Sydney Sixers won the toss and opted to field first against Melbourne Renegades.
Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam, Daniel Hughes, Josh Philippe (wk), Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Ben Dwarshuis, Joel Davies, Ben Manenti, Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr
Melbourne Renegades: Josh Brown, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Oliver Peake, Matthew Spoors, Hassan Khan, Will Sutherland (c), Andrew Tye, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Behrendorff
Big Bash League 2025-26: Live Streaming
The Big Bash League 2025-26 matches will be live-streamed in India on the JioHotstar app and website. Television broadcasts will take place on the Star Sports Network channels in the country.
