USA captain Monank Patel's 93-run knock, Michael Bracewell's unbeaten half-century and Kieron Pollard's 10-ball 26 camoe helped MI New York chase down the target of 201 with one over to spare and seven wickets in hand. MI New York won their first game of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 wherereas Heinrich Klaasen's Seattle Orcas suffered their third defeat in a row.
Monank's 93-run knock is the highest for a USA batter in MLC history. The record previously belonged to San Francisco Unicorns captain Corey Anderson who scored an unbeaten 91 against MI New York in the inaugural edition.
Slow start for Orcas
Earlier, Seattle Orcas captain Klaasen won the toss and opted to bat first. David Warner was dismissed lbw by Bracewell in the third over. In the sixth over, Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Aaron Jones. Seattle Orcas were 31/2 after six overs. Shayan Jahangir and Kyle Mayers pushed the scoring rate by hitting sixers. At the halfway stage, Seattle Orcas were 62/2. Mayers' catch was dropped at deep point in the 12th over off Sunny Patel's bowling. The partnership was broken by Sunny in the 14th over. Jahangir fell for a 34-ball 43.
Mayers goes haywire, Naveen takes a beating
Mayers reached his fifty with a maximum from 31 balls in the 16th over. Mayers and Klaasen switched to fifth gear in the slog overs. In the 18th over, Mayers hit his former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) teammate Naveen for four sixes. Trent Boult prevented Mayers from scoring a century. In the penultimate over, the Caribbean batter departed for a 46-ball 88, featuring 10 sixes and three fours. Shimron Hetmyer in his first match of the season hit Naveen for two sixes and two fours. Hetmyer's 9-ball 21 helped Seattle Orcas post 200/5. Klaasen remained unbeaten on 27 off 11 deliveries.
Monank makes up for slow start
In the run chase, MI New York started slow as well. Monank took his time whereas Quinton de Kock looked to attack. The South African wicketkeeper-batter lost his wicket to Sikandar Raza in the fifth over for a 13-ball 14. After five overs, Monank had scored just four runs from 12 balls. In the sixth over, he hit Jessy Singh for a six and a four. MI New York were 38/1 after powerplay overs. Bracewell did not score big straightaway and played several dot balls. But Mayank continued to strike. MI New York were 78/1 after 10 overs.
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Monank accelerates but misses century
In the 11th over, the opener hit Harmeet Singh for two sixes and a four. Monank reached his fifty from 33 balls. Bracewell got a reprieve as his catch was dropped by Warner in the 12th over, bowled by Mayers. Monank dominated the proceedings but Bracewell struggled to get going. In the 16th over, Mayers got Monank caught at deep cover. He scored 93 runs from 50 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes. Pooran hit a six off Raza and then got out. Pollard hit two fours in the same over.
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Bracewell, Pollard finish it off
Bracewell targetted Mayers in the 18th over, hitting him for two sixes and a four. In the penultimate over, Pollard hit Obed McCoy for two fours and gave Bracewell the strike. The Kiwi batter hit a six and rotated strike to get to his fifty from 35 balls. Pollard hit a six to finish the run chase and lead his side to victory.