Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic attended the 32nd match of the 2024-25 Big Bash League between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades. The match was played at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.
Djokovic enjoyed the game in which there were a lot of fours and sixes. However, he was left shocked when Stars Allrounder Marcus Stoinis almost hit the roof of the stadium. During the eighth over of the game, Tom Rogers bowled a length ball right into the gap outside the off stump.
Marcus Stoinis saw the opportunity and lined up to kick the ball off the floor with all his might. However, the ball only gained height, not height. It went miles in the air before falling to Kane Richardson at long-on right on the edge of the boundary.
The ball almost touched the roof and Marcus Stoinis just couldn’t believe he was caught in the deep. Even Novak Djokovic, who was present at this match, could not believe how Stoinis was fired and was shocked.
Watch: Glenn Maxwell stunned the cricket world with a record 122m sixes and a BBL-highest hat-trick
Watch: Novak Djokovic left shocked after Marcus Stoinis nearly fell on the roof
Even @DjokerNole I couldn’t believe it!
Marcus Stoinis gets caught after hitting a high ball and Novak Djokovic reacts accordingly! #BBL14 pic.twitter.com/7eaGv3xLza
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 12, 2025
It was a reaction to the taste of tennis legend Novak Djokovic. It should be noted that Novak Djokovic is currently in Melbourne, where he will participate in this year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open. He last won the Australian Open in 2023, but was defeated in the semifinals last year.
Glenn Maxwell fired the Melbourne Stars to a good total with a historic knock
Meanwhile, Melbourne Renegades won the toss and took the field first at home. They had the perfect start as they removed goalkeeper Sam Harper early on. The Renegades picked up two more wickets in quick succession, including the big wicket of Ben Duckett.
The Stars were further reduced to 75-7 and it looked like their innings would fold quickly. Captain Marcus Stoinis was dismissed for a quickfire 18 off 10 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes. However, Glenn Maxwell had other ideas. The vicious right-hander showed he still can and played blind under pressure.
He had Usama Mir as his batting partner but consistently held the bat to progress in the innings. Maxwell scored a magnificent 90 off just 52 deliveries with 4 fours and 10 sixes to take his team to 165. He really entertained the crowd by playing one of the most memorable knocks in the history of the tournament.
The Melbourne Renegades have failed miserably
In reply, Melbourne Renegades also got off to a poor start and lost their opening wickets. Fast bowlers Mark Steketee and Joel Paris wreaked havoc on the Renegades batting line-up to reduce them to 44-4. A brief partnership between Tim Seifert and Will Sutherland followed, but the latter’s wicket started another collapse.
Renegades continued to lose wickets from that point and were finally bowled out for 123 with just one ball to spare. Left-armer Joel Paris finished with 3-13 in four overs, while Mark Steketee finished with 5-17 in his spell.
