San Francisco Unicorns vs Washington Freedom Match Commentary: Major League Cricket, 2024

10.20am  Right then, that will be it from us for this contest. We hope you enjoyed the coverage. The action continues at the Major League Cricket, 2024. The next match of the competition will see the Texas Super Kings locking horns with the Seattle Orcas in Match 21 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. It will be another dead rubber as the four teams for the playoffs are already locked in. That game will be played on July 24th and will start at 6.00 am IST (12.30 am GMT). But as you know, you can always join early for all the build-up. Until then, take care, and cheers!

10.19am  The skipper of San Francisco Unicorns, Corey Anderson is up for a chat. He says that they had seen glimpses of Sanjay Krishnamurthi before and he feels proud of how Sanjay performed today. Adds that he is only 20 and he has got such maturity. Says that he will be a big player for them in their following games. Mentions that Hassan Khan is a key player for them as well and ends by saying that they can rely on him at any part of their innings.

10.17am  Steve Smith, the Washington Freedom skipper says that they played nicely and had a good score on board. Adds that it was a reasonable chase and the Unicorns batted well. Shares that they wanted to take the game on Travis Head has been exceptional. Mentions that today he got off to a fast start and Travis Head played as a second fiddle. Ends by lauding the Unicorn batters sharing that it got challenging with the wet outfield but plenty to learn in the rain-reduced game.

10.16am  Sanjay Krishnamurthi is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his sensational knock. He says that he decided to go hard from the beginning. Adds that he wanted to take his chances and it came off today. Shares that he worked on the mental side, and that helped him to play freely. Mentions that it was not turning much for the left-arm spinners, so he was trying to keep a calm head in the middle and it paid off.

10.11am  Stay tuned for the Presentations...

10.08am  Josh Inglis is in for a chat. He says that he is happy with the win. Says that he would have liked to stay till the end but the boys did a fantastic job. Adds that this will give them confidence in the qualifiers and this win was needed. Ends by saying that it was an outstanding innings from Sanjay Krishnamurthi and this is a good confidence booster for him.

10.08am  Earlier in the day, the Washington Freedom batted first and made 174 in 15.3 overs before the innings was shortened by rain. Both Travis Head and Steven Smith scored outstanding fifties while Andries Gous and Rachin Ravindra played handy cameos. Corey Anderson and Hassan Khan were the pick of the bowlers for the Unicorns on a run fest day in Dallas. This win gets the San Francisco Unicorns on par with the Washington Freedom on the points table but they will finish second as the Freedom have a superior net run rate.

10.07am  Washington Freedom started well with the ball but failed to keep it tight through the middle and the latter over. Akeal Hosein got the early wicket of Finn Allen while Andrew Tye got three for 41. All the bowlers, except Rachin Ravindra went for over 12 runs to the over and it was absolute carnage. Washington Freedom did rest quite a few of their first-choice bowlers but wouldn't have thought to lose after setting a huge score. They will want to take the learnings from this game before they meet the Unicorns again in Qualifer 1.

10.00am  An extraordinary run chase from the San Francisco Unicorns sees them defeat the Washington Freedom by 6 wickets with just 2 balls to spare. The Unicorns needed 177 to win off the 14 overs as per the DLS Method and they have done it in some style. Chasing the score, the openers departed early but Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Josh Inglis smoked it all around the park and added 77 runs in just 5 overs. Inglis made a quick-fire 45 off 17 while Hassan Khan chipped in with an unbeaten cameo of 32 off 11. The star of the chase was Sanjay Krishnamurthi who made a brilliant 79 off just 42 and took his team over the line. With this win, San Francisco Unicorns become the first side to defeat the Washington Freedom this season.