San Francisco Unicorns Clinch Victory Against Washington Freedom In Rain-Hit MLC 2024 Clash

Sanjay Krishnamurthi's unbeaten 79 off 42 balls and Josh Inglis' rapid 45 off 17 balls led the San Francisco Unicorns to a memorable victory over Washington Freedom, handing them their first loss of the season in the penultimate league stage match of Major League Cricket 2024 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Monday (July 23).

Despite half-centuries from Steve Smith and Travis Head, which propelled Washington Freedom to 174/3 in 15.3 overs, the Unicorns executed their run chase with precision in a rain-affected game, securing a six-wicket win via the DLS Method.

With the game reduced to 14 overs due to rain, San Francisco Unicorns were set a DLS-adjusted target of 177 runs. Finn Allen's dismissal on the first ball of the innings by Akeal Hosein posed an early challenge.

Undeterred, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Sanjay Krishnamurthi adopted an aggressive approach, scoring 42 runs in the 4-over Powerplay. Fraser-McGurk, having scored 18 off 9 balls, was caught behind by Andries Gous off Andrew Tye in the next over.

Krishnamurthi, who was dropped by Mukhtar Ahmed on 13 in the second over, reached his fifty off 28 balls in the eighth over. Josh Inglis then played a blistering innings, scoring 45 runs off 17 balls with six sixes and one four. He hit three consecutive sixes off Jack Edwards in the ninth over, reducing the target to 67 runs from 30 balls.

Tye, who had been hit for two sixes by Inglis in his second over, got his revenge by dismissing Inglis on the fourth ball and then removing Sherfane Rutherford on the last ball of the tenth over.

Washington's Strong Start

Earlier, Steve Smith and Travis Head gave Washington Freedom a flying start, amassing 70 runs in the Powerplay. They brought up the team's 100-run mark in the ninth over. Smith was then dismissed by Corey Anderson on the next ball after scoring a remarkable 56 off 31 balls.

Head continued his impressive form, reaching his fourth consecutive fifty in 34 balls before being dismissed by Anderson in the twelfth over after scoring 56 off 36 balls, leaving Washington at 122/2.

Final Moments

Krishnamurthi then took charge of the run chase, partnering with Hassan Khan to score 33 runs in the next two overs. They chased down the remaining 22 runs needed from twelve balls with two balls to spare.

Rachin Ravindra played a quick cameo, scoring sixteen off six balls before being run out in the fourteenth over. Gous (29* off twenty) continued to find timely boundaries until rain halted play after fifteen overs with Washington at 174/3. The match was then revised to a fourteen-over chase for San Francisco.

Upcoming Qualifier

Both teams concluded the league stage with eleven points from seven matches. However, Washington Freedom topped the standings due to a superior Net Run Rate, with San Francisco Unicorns finishing second.

With both teams finishing in the top two positions, Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns will face each other again in the Qualifier on July twenty-fifth at seven-thirty PM Local Time at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

San Francisco Unicorns:
177/4 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi: seventy-nine* off forty-two; Josh Inglis: forty-five off seventeen; Andrew Tye: three for forty-one)
beat
Washington Freedom:
174/3 (Steve Smith: fifty-six off thirty-one; Travis Head: fifty-six off thirty-six; Corey Anderson: two for twenty)
by six wickets (DLS Method).