San Francisco Unicorns Win Against Washington Freedom

The Unicorns win by six wickets in the 20th Match in Major League Cricket

Sanjay Krishnamurthi smashes undefeated 79 from just 42 balls / MLC.

By Caroline Chepkorir

The San Francisco Unicorns' Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Josh Inglis led their team to a triumph over the Washington Freedom. Krishnamurthi struck an undefeated 79 off 42 balls, while Inglis hit 45 off 17 balls. The Washington Freedom lost their first game of the season in match 20 of Major League Cricket 2024 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

Despite half centuries from Australians Steve Smith and Travis Head, who led the Washington Freedom to 174/3 in 15.3 overs, the San Francisco Unicorns staged a flawless run chase in a rain-affected game, secured a six-wicket triumph. Each of the teams concluded the season with 11 points from seven matches; the Washington Freedom finished first due to a greater net run rate, while San Francisco was in the second spot.

Due to the rain, the San Francisco Unicorns were assigned a DLS-adjusted target of 177 runs to win, limited the game to 14 overs. Akeal Hosein caught Finn Allen on his first ball of the inning.

Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Jake Fraser-McGurk led an aggressive approach, which they scored 42 runs in four overs, On the other hand Fraser McGurk, was bowled by Andre Gous off Andrew and Tye in the next over after scoring 18 runs off nine balls.

Mukhtar removed Krishnamurthi in the 13th over; he reached his fifty off 28 balls in the eighth over, while Josh Ingiis delivered a fantastic innings of 45 runs off just 17 balls, with six sixes and one four. He knocked three consecutive sixes off Jack Edward in the ninth over, which reduced the target to 67 runs off 30 balls.

Earlier in the game, Head and Smith gave Washington Freedom a strong start, they contributed 70 runs on the power play. The combination helped the team achieved 100 runs in 9.3 overs. Corey Anderson bowled Smith on the next ball after he had reached 56 off 31 balls, while Head went on to knock four consecutive fifties’ in 34 balls. He was eventually removed by Anderson in the 12th over after he scored 56 off 36 balls. The Washington Freedom's scoreboard was at 122/2.

Rachin Ravindra made a short cameo, he scored 16 off six balls, while Gous continued to hit timely boundaries before the rain stopped play in 15.3 overs. The Washington freedom stood at 174/3. The match was later changed to favor the San Francisco Unicorns in the 14th over.

“I decided to go hard from the beginning; I wanted to take my chances, and it paid off today. I worked on my mental side, which helped me play freely. I think it was dependent on a lot of factors; it was not turning much for the left-arm spinners, so I was trying to keep a calm head in the middle,” said San Krishanmurthi the player of the match in the media report.