In a dead rubber but high-scoring encounter at the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024, San Francisco Unicorns beat Washington Freedom by six wickets as per DLS method on July 22. Openers Travis Head and Steve Smith's fifties helped Washington Freedom post 174/3 before rain interrupted play. Unicorns got a revised target of 177 from 14 overs. Young Sanjay Krishnamurthi's unbeaten 89 and whirlwind knocks from Josh Inglis and Hassan Khan helped Unicorns chase down the target with two balls to spare.
Head, Smith hit fifties
Unicorns skipper Corey Anderson won the toss and opted to bowl first. Smith dominated the powerplay overs whereas Head played second fiddle. Washington were 70 for no loss after six overs. Smith reached his fifty with a six off just 23 balls. In the 10th over, skipper Anderson broke the partnership with Smith's wicket. he scored 56 runs from 31 balls. Head reached his fifty with a six as well. In the same over, he was dismissed by Anderson for a 36-ball 56. Rachin Ravindra and Andries Gous' cameos helped Washington post 174/3 from 15.3 overs before rain interrupted play.
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Krishnamurthi makes Washington pay for dropped chances
After the rain break, chasing a revised target of 177 from 14 overs, Unicorns lost the wicket of Finn Allen on the first over. Akeal Hosein knocked him over. Krishnamurthi opened his account with a huge six. He was dropped off Saurabh Netravalkar's bowling by Mukhtar Ahmed in the second over. Jake Fraser-McGurk's stay at the crease was cut-short by Andrew Tye in the fifth over. Fraser-McGurk scored 18 runs from nine balls. After powerplay overs, Unicorns were 58/2. In the eighth over, Krishnamurthi reached his maiden T20 fifty with a six. He took just 28 balls to reach the milestone.
In the ninth over, Jack Edwards was hit for four sixes including three consecutive maximums off Inglis' bat. In the 10th over, he smashed Tye for two consecutive sixes before getting caught by Mukhtar. He scored 45 runs from 18 balls. Sherfane Rutherford could not make an impact and departed for a two-ball duck in the same over. In the 11th over, Krishnamurthi was dropped by Smith off Hosein's bowling. Hassan Khan and Krishnamurthi targetted Tye as 22 runs came off the 12th over. In the penultimate over, Krishnamurthi hit a six whereas Hassan hit three consecutive fours. Three runs were needed in the final over and Krishnamurthi finished the run chase with two balls left. His 42-ball 79 was studded with five fours and six sixes. Hassan contributed with a crucial 11-ball 32 cameo.
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