San Francisco Unicorns continued their unbeaten run in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 as they beat Nicholas Pooran-led MI New York in a comprehensive manner. Captain Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk went berserk as their half-centuries helped San Francisco Unicorns post 246/4, which turned out to be too much for MI New York despite a 119-run opening partnership between Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel. This is MI New York's fourth loss of the season, putting their playoffs qualification in jeopardy.
Short, Fraser-McGurk wreak havoc
Pooran won the toss and opted to bowl first. Tim Seifert played second fiddle to Short who hit boundaries all around the mark. San Francisco Unicorns were 63 for no loss after powerplay over. Short completed his fifty from just 22 balls in the seventh over. The partnership was broken by Nosthush Kenjige in the ninth over. Seifert departed for a 22-ball 26. Fraser-McGurk arrived at the crease and hit Michael Bracewell for three sixes and a four in the 26-run over. At the halfway stage, Unicorns were 117/1.
Short continued to hit big and even Trent Boult could not keep him quiet. Then, Pooran went to experienced campaigner Kieron Pollard who provided the breakthrough. In his 700th T20 appearance, Pollard prevented Short from reaching his century. He scored 91 runs from 43 balls, including nine fours and five sixes. In the next over, Fraser-McGurk hit Sunny Patel for three sixes. The young batter reached his fifty from just 21 balls. Pollard stopped Fraser-McGurk as well in his next over. He departed after scoring 64 runs from 26 balls, including one four and seven sixes. Romario Shepherd departed for a single-digit score to Naveen-ul-Haq In the slog overs, Hassan Khan (9-ball 31) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi's (16-ball 27) unbeaten cameos helped Unicorns post 246/4.
Monank, De Kock's fitting reply
Monank and De Kock got MI New York's run chase off to a good start. Seasoned bowlers Xavier Bartlett, Haris Rauf and Liam Plunkett looked ineffective against them as they were hit for fours and sixes. After powerplay overs, MI New York were 77 for no loss. In the eighth over, Monank reached his fifty from 25 balls. The partnership was broken by Plunkett in the 10th over. Monank fell for a 33-ball 60. He hit 10 fours and six during his stay at the crease. At the halfway stage, MI New York were 122/1.
Pooran's struggle derails run chase
In the 12th over, De Kock reached his fifty from 30 balls. Pooran struggled and could not hit a single boundary during his stay at the crease which led to required run rate climbing up. He fell to Rauf for a 17-ball 15 in the 16th over. In the next over, Shepherd struck twice off consecutive deliveries to rule out MI New York's comeback. De Kock dragged one on to the stumps. The Proteas batter departed for a 46-ball 70 laced with eight fours and two sixes. Then, Bracewell got out bowled. Bartlett returned to dismiss Tajinder Dhillon. In the penultimate over, Pollard smashed Rauf for two sixes and as many fours. Bartlett conceded just three runs in the last over and got another wicket. Pollard remained unbeaten for a 16-ball 34 as MI New York managed to put 199/6 on the board and lost the match by 47 runs.