Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan has claimed Australian great Ricky Ponting in what might be their last meeting as the Hobart Hurricanes set a tiny target for the Melbourne Renegades at Etihad Stadium.

Murali took 2-16 from four overs as the Hurricanes managed just 9-102, having been sent in, in Wednesday night’s Big Bash match.

Hobart’s dreadful batting gave the top-placed Renegades a golden chance to maintain their unbeaten record and become the 11th team in as many matches this season to win batting second.

The Hurricanes never got going, losing frequent wickets throughout.

Ponting (25 from 25 balls) top-scored, with no other batter making more than the painfully-slow 14 off 29 balls provided by Owais Shah.

It was an unlikely setting – under a roof at a venue mostly used for AFL games – for Australia’s highest Test run-scorer to have what was probably his last duel with Murali, Test cricket’s greatest wicket-taker.

The way their battle ended fitted the setting more than their history, Ponting attempting a reverse-pull shot, missing it completely and having the ball knock back his off-stump.

By that stage the Hurricanes were 3-46 in the ninth over and things only got worse, with George Bailey and Scott Styris falling to Aaron O’Brien and Murali respectively in the next two overs to make it 5-51.

The off-breaks of West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels (3-22) also proved damaging while seamer Nathan Rimmington (3-18) also dined out on Hobart’s uncharacteristically poor batting.