Former India batter Unmukt Chand who won the Under-19 World Cup 2012 as captain, led Los Angeles Knight Riders to their first win of the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. Chand remained unbeaten for a 58-ball 86 as Knight Riders chased down 178 against Heinrich Klaasen's Seattle Orcas with six wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
Seattle Orcas post a par total
Klaasen won the toss and opted to bat first. Shayan Jahangir hit three fours and a six in his 15-ball 25 before falling to captain Jason Holder. David Warner struggled to push the scoring rate during fielding restrictions. Seattle Orcas were 47/1 after powerplay overs. Aaron Jones struggled to find boundaries in the middle overs. Seattle Orcas were 81/1 at the halfway stage. Andre Russell broke the partnership by knocking over Warner who scored 38 runs from 28 balls.
Kyle Mayers got an early reprieve as his catch was dropped by Rovman Powell. Jones broke the shackles and hit Corne Dry for a six. Mayers departed for a 12-ball 14 before slog overs. Klaasen arrived at the crease but could not inflict any damage as he was dismissed by Russell for a single-digit score. In the 17th over, Jones missed out on a fifty as he became Dry's only victim of the day. He scored 44 runs from 36 balls. Shimron Hetmyer contributed with a 12-ball 19 cameo. He became Russell's third victim of the day. Sikandar Raza remained unbeaten for a 12-ball 16 as Seattle Orcas posted 177/6.
Knight Riders recover after early blows
LA Knight Riders' run chase got off to a poor start. Alex Hales and Nitish Kumar departed after scoring just a single. Chand hit a few boundaries as LA Knight Riders were 45/2 after powerplay overs. Saif Badar tried to play himself in. At the halfway stage, LA Knight Riders were 72/2. In the 11th over, Chand went after Proteas pacer Gerald Coetzee. He hit two sixes and two fours in the over. The opener reached his half-century from 38 balls.
Chand, Badar lead Knight Riders to victory
Badar attacked as well bringing the required run rate down. In the 16th over, Badar hit Raza for a six to reach his fifty. In the same over, he was dismissed for a 32-ball 54. Jessy Singh was brought back into the attack and he knocked over Powell. Chand and Sherfane Rutherford ensured there is no anti-climax in the game. In the penultimate over, Rutherford hit a six to finish the run chase in style. The Caribbean batter remained unbeaten for a nine-ball 20. Chand scored 86 runs from 58 balls. His knock was laced with 10 fours and four sixes.
Meanwhile, this was Seattle Orcas' fourth defeat in a row. They are placed at the bottom of the points table.