A shattered Glenn Maxwell denies the Melbourne Stars had folded under pressure, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the BBL final against the Melbourne Renegades.
The Stars had been cruising to a maiden BBL title at 0-93 in the 13th over on Sunday at Marvel Stadium, chasing a modest target of 146 runs.
But in a stunning capitulation, Melbourne's green team lost 7-19 to fall 13 runs short.
The Stars were in the box seat when they restricted the Renegades to 5-145 from their 20 overs after winning the toss, but Maxwell (1), Peter Handscomb (0) and Dwayne Bravo (3) were all part of the horror collapse.
But Maxwell rejected claims that the Stars simply didn't handle the pressure when it counted most.
"I wouldn't say that ... I thought it was more the conditions and probably being more aware of when we had to score runs," Maxwell told reporters.
"I think we batted beautifully in those first 10 overs but we probably should have gone a little harder.
"You can kill the game in a power play when you're only chasing 145.
"We needed to go a little bit harder, but that's all in hindsight. I know that now, but it would have been nice to know before.
"They bowled very well - they just kept themselves in the game. Unfortunately, we just couldn't have a batter come in and do the job.
"It seemed like every time someone took a risk, they got out, but that can happen."
The loss is a gut-wrenching end to a campaign of many positives for the Stars, who finished BBL07 on the bottom of the ladder.
Maxwell earned plaudits for his captaincy, Ben Dunk found some form at the top of the order, Marcus Stoinis continued to elevate his game and spinner Sandeep Lamichhane showed he had a great future ahead of him.
"This will probably drive us next year ... we'll use it as motivation to go one step further," Maxwell said.
"We were so close ... with eight overs to go, we probably looked like we were winners.
"To fall that short is disappointing. It's hard to take right now, but once the dust settles, we'll get back into it next year."
Maxwell won't have much time to stew over the loss as he flies out on Monday with the Australian ODI squad for the tour of India.
Australian Associated Press
