Sydney Sixers 129 for 4 (Philippe 35, Stoinis 2-21) beat Melbourne Stars 128 (Macdonald 33, Stoinis 33, Dwarshuis 4-13, Edwards 3-27, Davies 2-15) by six wickets

Ben Dwarshuis took four wickets allowing Sydney Sixers to comfortably chase down a meagre target and extend their BBL winning streak with a five-wicket victory over Melbourne Stars.

Dwarshuis narrowly missed out on becoming the first Sixers men's player to claim a hat-trick, but was a strong contributor at the MCG on Thursday night. The left-arm seamer was part of a bowling unit that strangled Stars, knocking them over for 128 in 19.5 overs, before Lachlan Shaw (24 not out off 14) and Jordan Silk steered the visitors home.

It was Sixers' third straight win, setting up a possible title charge with Test stars Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith, plus offspinner Todd Murphy, set to feature in the back-end of the competition. Stars, meanwhile, have nosedived with three straight losses after their hot start to the campaign.

Sixers didn't require anything special and always looked in control during their run chase, with Josh Philippe (35 off 25) top-scoring. Stars captain Marcus Stoinis fought hard in an attempt to drag his side back into the contest.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Joel Davies put the clamps on Stars, who were sent in to bat and only briefly lifted their run rate above eight an over. Stoinis and Blake Macdonald top-scored for the home side, but both fell to Dwarshuis.

Dwarshuis bowled a double-wicket maiden in the 18th over, dismissing Stoinis and Haris Rauf in consecutive balls. But he missed out on what would have been a historic hat-trick when Stars tailender Liam Hatcher played and missed a length ball outside off stump.

Jack Edwards helped restrict Stars to 2 for 17 in the power surge and removed key man Glenn Maxwell, who continued his lean season with the bat when he skied a catch.

Stars are back in action against cross-town rivals Melbourne Renegades on Saturday, while Sixers host Hobart Hurricanes the following day.