Washington Freedom Continues Unbeaten Streak Sealing Top Finish

Travis Head's explosive start and Jasdeep's dominant bowling secure a 42-Run win

Travis Head's explosive start and Jasdeep's dominant bowling secure a 42-Run win for Washington Freedom /

The unstoppable Washington Freedom players, who defeated the Texas Super Kings yesterday, July 19, 2024, by 42 runs at Grand Prairie Stadium, have an unbroken run going forward. Having had two half-centuries and another fifty, Travis Head maintained his quick shape. In the third and fourth overs, he hammered Marcus Stoinis and Zia ul Haq for 15 and 22 runs, respectively, reaching his 50 off just 20 balls. Freedom surged and scored 50 in four overs, forcing Texas Super Kings skipper Faf Du Plessis to call in Noor Ahmad.

“I just watch the ball hard and react to it. I have the momentum from the last few games and just carrying on. My job is to get the team off to a good start and that has been my role for some time now. We thought the wicket would spin later and that's why we wanted to maximize the powerplay. I felt it was a good wicket early on and that's why Steve said he would bat at the toss. Just stay relaxed, keep the mind calm and keep going,” said Travis Head in media reports.

While Ranchin Ravindra was caught by Noor off his bowling, the Super Kings picked up two wickets, with Andres Gous trapped in front by Dwayne Bravo off a full delivery in the next two overs. Noor castled Maxwell, which resulted in Obus Pienaar arriving and performing a stunning 33-off-21 cameo. Steve Smith rose to fifty in the eighteenth over and performed a flawless anchor job. Pienaar took the Freedom past the 200-run mark and pulled home two maximums off Stoinis in the last over.

With batters Devon Conway and Faf Du Plessis helping to see out the first two overs and taking 15 runs off Jansen in the third over, the Super Kings seemed aggressive in the Powerplay. Freedom brought in Maxwell in the fourth over, who worked miracles and instantly had Conway caged in front. Faf du Plessis struck three sixes and a four with 22 off the over against Amila Aponso. The Super Kings were hurrying to 76-1 in the Powerplay with Du Plessis raising his fifty off just 19 balls in the 7th over.

Jasdeep continued to dominate with 3 for 25 runs in 4 overs, while Marcus Stoinis, Dwayne Bravo, and Milind Kumar fell cheaply. Ravindra returned in the last over to take two wickets, therefore adding his daily total to four and securing a convincing 42-run triumph for his side as Calvin Savage (35) battled on for the Super Kings. “The emotions are pretty high. I am just enjoying each moment. Smudge and Lockie have been tremendous help for me on the field. I just go out there and execute the plans. The wicket was two-paced and we tried to bowl into the wicket. If we keep mixing it up on this wicket it is helpful. The over Lockie bowled before me, I was watching and I tried to do the same thing. I thought about hitting the right lengths and happy it worked out,” Jasdeep, awarded player of the match, said.