MI New York Captain, Nicholas Pooran, played one of the greatest T20 innings you will ever see to lift his side to a dominant seven-wicket victory over the Seattle Orcas to claim the first ever Major League Cricket title at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Sunday.
The day started with the Orcas making a respectable 183-9 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Pooran.
The bulk of their scoring was done by South African superstar, Quinton De Kock.
The opener, fresh off 88* in Qualifier 1 against the Texas Super Kings on Thursday to help the Orcas advance to the final, made a 52-ball 87 including nine fours and four sixes on Sunday.
He was supported well by Shubham Ranjane and Dwaine Pretorius who had scores of 29 and 21, respectively. Pretorius’ knock came off just seven balls and included three fours and a six.
Rashid Khan was, as usual, brilliant with the ball for MI New York with 3-9 from his four overs while Trent Boult took 3-34 from his four over spell.
MI New York’s chase got off to a rough start when Steven Taylor was bowled by Imad Wasim for a duck in the first over but then, the Pooran show started.
In what was a magnificent knock, the left-hander from Trinidad hit 10 fours and 13 sixes on his way to a 55-ball 137* to lead his team to victory. His fifty came up off just 16 balls while his century took 40 balls.
Dewald Brevis was the next highest scorer with 20 as MI New York needed just 16 overs to reach 184-3 and put themselves down in the history books as the first ever champions of Major League Cricket.
Pooran ended the tournament as the leading run scorer with 388 runs in eight matches at an average of 64.66. He was also named as the tournament MVP.
His MI New York teammate, Trent Boult, topped the leading wicket-taker list with 22, 11 more than anybody else.
MI New York will take on the Seattle Orcas in the first ever Major League Cricket final after securing a six wicket win over the Texas Super Kings in the Eliminator at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday.
The Super Kings, coming off a brutal loss to the Orcas in Qualifier 1, posted 158 all out in the r 20 overs after being put in to bat by MI New York.
Devon Conway hit 38 and Milind Kumar made 37 to lead the Super Kings. Trent Boult took his third consecutive four-wicket haul (4-24) to lead the MI New York bowling effort.
South African Dewald Brevis hit 41* while Shayan Jahangir hit 36 as MI New York reached 162-4 with six deliveries to spare. Tim David also played a big hand with a 20-ball 33.
The final between the Seattle Orcas and MI New York will take place on Sunday at the same venue.
The Seattle Orcas became the first finalists in Major League Cricket history after a dominant nine-wicket win over the Texas Super Kings in Qualifier 1 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.
The Super Kings managed to post just 126-9 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
Daniel Sams hit 26* while Devon Conway and Cody Chetty each hit 24. Those were the only Super Kings batsmen to reach double figures as Andrew Tye took 3-32 and Imad Wasim grabbed 2-23 for the Orcas.
Quinton De Kock then led the successful chase for the Orcas with an unbeaten 50-ball 88 including 10 fours and four sixes.
He was well supported by Shehan Jayasuriya who hit 31* as Seattle needed just 15 overs to reach 127-1 and secure a spot in the final.
Their opponents will be determined when the Super Kings face MI New York, who beat the Washington Freedom by 16 runs in the Eliminator on the same day, on Friday.
MI New York made 141-7 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Freedom.
Dewald Brevis, who played because of an injury sustained by Captain, Kieron Pollard, in their last game, led the way with 57 off 41 balls including four fours and three sixes.
Saurabh Netravalkar took 2-25 for the Freedom.
Washington were then restricted to 125-9 from their 20 overs despite 28 from Marco Jansen and 24 from Andries Gous.
Trent Boult led the charge with 4-20 while Nosthush Kenjige took 2-19 for MI New York.
The Texas Super Kings advanced to the playoffs of the inaugural season of Major League Cricket after a three-wicket win over the San Francisco Unicorns in their fifth and final league phase game at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina on Monday.
The Unicorns won the toss in the winner-take-all encounter and decided to bat first.
Matthew Wade led the way with 49 while Chaitanya Bishnoi made 35 as the Unicorns posted 171-8 off their 20 overs.
Pacer Gerald Coetzee took 4-31 off his four overs for the Super Kings.
Texas then reached 172-7 with five balls to spare.
Milind Kumar set the foundation for the successful chase with a 42-ball 52 before Daniel Sams hit a whirlwind 18-ball 42 including two fours and four sixes to help seal qualification to the playoffs.
Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan each took a pair of wickets for the Unicorns.
The Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom have all confirmed their spots in the playoffs.
The final spot will be determined on Tuesday when the Orcas face MI New York. MI New York and San Francisco both have four points with New York ahead on net run rate. MI New York would seal their spot in the playoffs with a win or by avoiding a heavy defeat. If they lose by at least 130 runs, they would finish fifth and the Unicorns would advance.
MI New York are one step closer to booking a spot in the inaugural Major League Cricket playoffs after an eight-wicket victory over the Washington Freedom at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, on Sunday.
MI New York held the Freedom to a respectable 160-6 after winning the toss and electing to field first.
Glenn Phillips hit a 35-ball 47 while Captain, Moises Henriques, hit 32 off 30 balls for Washington.
New York skipper, Kieron Pollard, was amongst the wickets with 2-33 from his four overs.
Nicholas Pooran then starred with an unbeaten 62 as MI New York needed only 15.3 overs to reach 161-2.
The left-hander faced 33 balls and struck four fours and six sixes on his way to his first fifty of the competition.
Pooran was well supported by openers Monank Patel, who hit 44 off 29 balls, and Shayan Jahangir, who made 29. Pollard was at the crease alongside Pooran in the end, finishing 21* off just 10 balls.
The Seattle Orcas and Washington Freedom have each already secured spots in the playoffs with three teams battling for the remaining two spots.
MI New York, who play the Orcas in their last game, will be in with a win or if they avoid a heavy defeat.
The Texas Super Kings and San Francisco Unicorns are the other teams in contention for a spot and they will be facing each other in a winner-take-all clash on Monday.
Andre Russell put on a show with the bat but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Los Angeles Knight Riders from going down by six wickets to the Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina on Thursday.
The Freedom won the toss and put the Knight Riders in to bat. The decision looked like the right one, early, when Washington had the Knight Riders reeling at 68-4 in the 11th over before Russell came to the wicket.
The all-rounder needed just 37 balls to hit 70*, his second fifty in the tournament. The Jamaican hit six fours and as many sixes. He was supported well by Rilee Rossouw who hit 41 off 30 balls including four sixes.
In the end, LA amassed a respectable 175-7 from their 20 overs. Freedom Captain, Moises Henriques, took 3-26 off three overs while Marco Jansen took 2-29 off four.
The ensuing chase was an all-round batting effort from the Freedom. They needed only 18.1 overs to overhaul LA’s total, eventually finishing on 177-4.
Openers Matthew Short and Andries Gous led the way with scores of 43 and 40, respectively. Short’s innings lasted 35 balls and included three fours and a six while Gous needed just 15 balls and hit five fours and two sixes.
Glenn Phillips also made a good contribution with 29 while Obus Pienaar hit 26. Knight Riders skipper, Sunil Narine, was their most economical bowler with 1-20 from his four overs.
The Knight Riders are still winless in the competition with only one match left to play.
New Zealander, Devon Conway, hit 74 to help the Texas Super Kings get their second win in three games in Major League Cricket with a 17-run win over MI New York at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Monday.
The Super Kings won the toss and posted 154-7 off their 20 overs.
Conway’s innings lasted 55 balls and included eight fours and a six. Conway’s countryman, Mitchell Santner, hit 27 in support. Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada each took a pair of wickets for MINY.
MI New York’s chase then failed to get going after a slow first powerplay where they only scored 32 in the first six overs.
The innings sauntered along before, eventually, they were restricted to 137-8 after 20 overs.
Shayan Jahangir top scored with 41 while Tim David hit 21 and Nicholas Pooran made 19.
Daniel Sams was excellent with the ball for Texas, picking up 2-15 in his four overs.
The Super Kings are now on top of the table with four points from three games.
Former West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, rolled back the years to hit a career-best 76* but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Washington Freedom from defeating his Texas Super Kings by just six runs in their Major League Cricket fixture at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Sunday.
The Freedom first posted 163-5 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Australian opener, Matthew Short, did the bulk of the scoring for Washington with a 50-ball 80 including 10 fours and three sixes.
He was supported by hic countryman and Freedom Captain, Moises Henriques, who hit 21 and Mukhtar Ahmed who scored 20.
South African quick, Gerald Coetzee, took 2-26 from his four overs for the Super Kings.
Texas, in their chase, were reeling at 78-6 at one point before Bravo gave them a glimmer of hope with some fireworks.
The 39-year-old hit five fours and six sixes in his innings that took just 39 balls.
In the end, they fell agonizingly short of their target at 157-8 after 20 overs.
Akeal Hosein took 2-25 off his four overs for the Freedom while Marco Jansen took 2-31 from his four.
Following what could only be described as an abject display of batting, Sunil Narine’s Los Angeles Knight Riders were skittled out for 50; that’s right, 50 runs to lose by 105 runs to Kieron Pollard’s MI New York in their Major League Cricket encounter in Dallas, Texas on Sunday night.
Neither side would have been proud of their efforts with the bat after Pollard won the toss and elected to bat. It was not long before they were in dire straits at 54-4 in the ninth over. Nicholas Pooran’s 38 and Tim David, the Player of the Match, who top scored with an unbeaten 48 got them past 100 and onto a final score of 155-8.
Corne Fry was the best of the Knight Riders’ bowlers with 2-10. Adam Zampa chipped in with 2-25 and Ali Khan 2-28.
With a relatively modest target of 156, Knight Riders would have been licking their chops in anticipation of an easy night. It was anything but as only Onmukt Chand was the only batter in double figures with his score of 26.
Andre Russell faced six balls for two runs and Narine faced four for his two as the Knight Riders collapsed to 50 all out in the 14th over.
Ehsan Adil and Nosthush Kenjige each took 2-7 while Pollard, who made only five when New York was at the crease, took 2-10. Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada also took two wickets each.
The win elevated New York up to second in the table with one win and a loss while Los Angeles sits at the foot of the six-team table after consecutive losses.
Needless to say neither captain was particularly happy, Pollard only more slightly so.
“Happy with that (the end result). Not happy with the performance, though. Losing five wickets in the 10-11 overs is unacceptable from our team. We lost a lot of wickets in the first game as well and that can cost us,” said Pollard.
Responding to whether his openers were going too hard at the start, the former West Indies white-ball captain replied, “I do not think so. Some of the guys playing this level of cricket for the first time in franchise cricket. We need to give them time but it is about understanding what needs to be done. You cannot win the game in the first six overs
The Seattle Orcas opened their 2023 Major League Cricket campaign with a five wicket win over the Washington Freedom at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday.
The Orcas restricted their opponents to 144-7 off 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.
Akeal Hosein led the way with the bat for the Freedom with an unbeaten 22-ball 33 including a four and a pair of sixes. Earlier, Andries Gous made 28 and Captain, Moises Henriques, made 24 against a pair of wickets, each, from Wayne Parnell and Harmeet Singh.
The Orcas then needed 19.4 overs to reach 148-5 and secure victory. Quinton De Kock led the way with 48 off 37 balls including three fours and as many sixes. All-rounder, Imad Wasim, finished unbeaten on 43 from 38 balls. Shimron Hetmyer contributed 23.
New Zealander, Corey Anderson, hit an unbeaten 91 to help the San Francisco Unicorns open their 2023 Major League Cricket campaign with a 22-run victory over MI New York at Grand Prairie Stadium on Friday.
Anderson’s knock came off 52 balls and included four fours and seven sixes to help the Unicorns post a formidable 215-5 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
It was an excellent recovery for the Unicorns who were reeling at 50-4 after seven overs before a crucial 129-run fifth wicket partnership between Anderson and Pakistani all rounder Shadab Khan. Khan made a rapid 30-ball 61 including four fours and five sixes.
Pacers Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada took 2-38 and 2-32, respectively.
MI New York then made a solid effort to chase down their target, eventually finishing 193-5 from their 20 overs.
Tim David led the way with an unbeaten 53 off 28 balls while Captain Pollard contributed 48 and Pooran hit 40.
Former England pacer, Liam Plunkett, took 2-30 for the Unicorns.
The Texas Super Kings secured a resounding 69-run win over the Los Angeles Knight Riders to kick off the inaugural season of Major League Cricket in the United States.
The Knight Riders, led by Captain, Sunil Narine and including the likes of Andre Russell and Rilee Rossouw, won the toss and elected to field first at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.
The Super Kings, including Dwayne Bravo, posted 181-6 from their 20 overs thanks to half-centuries from David Miller and Devon Conway.
Miller blasted a 42-ball 61 including two fours and four sixes while, earlier, Conway hit 55 off 37 balls including seven fours and a six at the top of the order.
Pacers Lockie Ferguson and Ali Khan each took a pair of wickets for the Knight Riders.
The Super Kings then used early wickets and disciplined bowling to restrict the Knight Riders to 112 all out in just 14 overs in their reply.
The Knight Riders lost five wickets within the first six overs and were never able to recover to make the game competitive.
Only Andre Russell offered some resistance for the Knight Riders with an aggressive 55 off 34 balls including seven fours and three big sixes.
Jaskaran Malhotra (22) and Narine (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures as leg-spinner Mohammad Mohsin backed up some good bowling at the top from the pacers with 4-8 from three overs.
Earlier, Rusty Theron took 2-16 and Gerald Coetzee took 2-22 in four overs between them. Dwayne Bravo also chipped in with 1-10 from his two overs.
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