Finn Allen Hits Century To Propel San Francisco Unicorns Into MLC Final

Finn Allen and Pat Cummins shone as the San Francisco Unicorns narrowly defeated the Texas Super Kings by 10 runs in a thrilling Challenger match of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024. The game took place at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Friday night.

Allen's explosive century off 53 balls, featuring nine boundaries and five sixes, set the stage for the Unicorns. His aggressive play during the powerplay propelled the team to a score of 66/0. Despite losing Jake Fraser-McGurk and Sanjay Krishnamurthi quickly to Noor Ahmad, Josh Inglis supported Allen with a crucial 37 from 25 deliveries.

San Francisco Unicorns: 200/6 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 101, Josh Inglis 37, Noor Ahmad 3/27) beat Texas Super Kings: 190/4 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 62*, Joshua Tromp 56, Juanoy Drysdale 2/33)

The Unicorns posted a challenging total of 200/6 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to Allen's century. Cummins then successfully defended 18 runs in the final over, restricting the Texas Super Kings to 190/4.

Noor Ahmad was the standout bowler for the Texas Super Kings, taking key wickets and finishing with figures of 3/27. Mohammad Mohsin, Marcus Stoinis, and Ottoneil Baartman each claimed a wicket but couldn't prevent their team's defeat.

What's next in MLC 2024?

With this win, the San Francisco Unicorns advance to the finals to face Washington Freedom on Sunday. The Texas Super Kings will head home after their exit in the Challenger.

In their chase, Devon Conway led the Texas Super Kings with an unbeaten knock of 62 off just 38 balls. Faf du Plessis added a brisk 45 off 22 deliveries but his dismissal slowed down their momentum.

The middle-order contributions were minimal with Aaron Hardie scoring only 19, Milind Kumar managing just two runs, and Marcus Stoinis adding one. Joshua Tromp kept hopes alive with a breezy innings of 56 from 36 balls.

The match reached its climax in the last five overs when Texas needed another 64 runs. With Conway and Tromp at the crease, Haris Rauf and Cummins delivered tight overs under pressure for the Unicorns.

Cummins was instrumental in the final over, conceding only seven runs when Texas needed eighteen. His experienced death bowling ensured a victory for San Francisco Unicorns. Juanoy Drysdale emerged as their leading wicket-taker with figures of 2/33.

Allen's innings included two significant overs against Marcus Stoinis where he scored sixteen runs each time and an eighteen-run over against Zia Ul Haq that featured two consecutive sixes. Hassan Khan's quickfire twenty-seven off fifteen balls also helped push their total to two hundred runs.

Conway brought up his half-century in just thirty balls while Tromp reached his milestone in thirty-one deliveries with four fours and two sixes each.