DAY FIVE of the T20 Spring Challenge belonged to both Meg Lanning and Madeline Penna, whose phenomenal knocks brought their respective sides victories.

Sydney Sixers 5-130 (19.0) def. by Melbourne Stars 2-134 (17.2)

In the first match of the day, it was the Melbourne Stars that took home an eight-wicket win with 10 balls to spare at Hurstville Oval.

In the first half of the contest, it was the effort of veteran Sixers batter Erin Burns that got them a defendable total. Her unbeaten 65 off 49 balls included eight fours and was the highest score for Sydney.

Other notable showings for the side were Kate Pelle’s opening innings of 15 off 17, and rising star Caoimhe Bray’s unbeaten 19 off 24.

The Stars bowlers that were the most effective were Indigo Noble (2/18), Tess Flintoff (1/29) and Maisy Gibson (1/18).

In the second innings, it was the Lanning that stole the show for Melbourne. The former Australian captain blasted 92 runs off just 57 balls in the match, including 10 fours and two sixes.

Lanning was brilliant considering her opening partner Olivia Henry was dismissed for an eight-ball duck. Coming in after Henry, Sophie Reid hit a run-a-ball 21 before she followed suit.

Flintoff finished off the innings at the crease alongside Lanning hitting an unbeaten 17 off 18 deliveries.

There were only two bowlers with wickets to their name for the Sixers, with Juliette Morton (1/11) the pick of the bunch. Frankie Nicklin took the scalp of Henry, however she conceded 10 runs an over across the match.

Adelaide Strikers 5-173 (20.0) def. Melbourne Renegades 156 (18.3)

In the game at Karen Rolton Oval, it was the Strikers that emerged victorious after some scintillating batting from all-rounder Penna.

Adelaide looked in some trouble after opener Ellie Johnston got out for just two runs off seven balls courtesy of young gun Sara Kennedy. At the other end it was Katie Mack that started well but couldn’t go on with her innings, out for 26 off 20.

Enter Penna, who aided by Mack and Larosa (10 off 16) was able to farm the strike to face 64 balls to rack up her 113 runs. She was able to use the smaller ground to her advantage, hitting 17 fours and three sixes.

After she departed, it was Jemma Barsby who hit 12 off nine deliveries to get the Strikers up to their 173 run total.

Two Renegades bowlers stood above the rest, with Emma De Broughe (1/19) and Ella Hayward (1/23) returning economical figures considering the strike rate of Penna’s destructive innings.

In Melbourne’s batting innings, there were a few contributors that could have shaped their total more than they did.

Naomi Stalenberg got them a start with a rapid 27 runs off 11 balls. This was then followed with two cheap wickets of Nicole Faltum (two off six) and Georgia Prestwidge (three off six) who hogged the strike for not much in return.

A pair of South Australian WNCL players got their side’s run rate trending in the right direction with Courtney Webb (36 off 16) and de Broughe (31 off 18) seeing the ball well.

This was followed by Sarah Coyte’s solid 23 off 16, however apart from Hayward’s 16 off 12 balls, the Renegades squandered their position in the game which looked poised for a win.

Three Strikers bowlers were influential in the game with Amanda-Jade Wellington (four wickets), Anesu Mushangwe (two wickets) and Larosa (two wickets) impressive. Although the latter was somewhat expensive, she took the wickets of the dangerous Webb and their last set batter Coyte.

The Renegades were bowled out with nine balls left in the innings despite being 17 runs shy of the total.