Scorecard: Six Teams Battle as Major League Cricket Continues in Dallas
- So far, the Texas Super Kings are leading the roster with two wins and one loss, and a net run rate of 1.333, while the Seattle Orcas are trailing on the second spot with two wins and no loss, and a 1.043 net run rate.
Daniel Sam’s “spectacular spell” guided Texas Super Kings to victory over MI New York by 17 runs, as Major League Cricket, the first professional T20 cricket league in the U.S. continues at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. In the seventh game on Monday (July 17), the Super Kings posted 154/7 in 20 overs before restricting MI New York to 137/8, according to information on the MLC website.
After MI opening batter Monank Patel “departed for a duck in the second over after edging a delivery from Rusty Theron to the wicketkeeper,” Shayan Jahangir and Steven Taylor tried to salvage the game, MLC said. However, their few boundaries didn’t help MI get to the “required run rate at 46/1 at the end of the 8th over,” MLC said. Tim David and Rashid Khan tried to take the team “over the line through a few boundaries, but Daniel Sams conceded only 3 runs in the final over and ensured that the Super Kings walked off the field as winners.”
The Super Kings won the toss and chose to bat first. “Devon Conway got the Super Kings off to a great start with two boundaries in the first over,” MLC said. Although Captain Faf du Plessis was bowled out for eight runs” by Kagiso Rabada, “Conway continued to strike boundaries as the Super Kings reached 46/1 in 6 overs.”
So far, the Super Kings are leading the roster with two wins and one loss, and a net run rate of 1.333. The Seattle Orcas are trailing on the second spot with two wins and no loss, and a 1.043 net run rate.
Over the weekend, MI secured its first victory, thanks to “a strong bowling display and David’s heroics,” MLC said. The team beat Los Angeles Knight Riders by 105 runs on Sunday (July 16). The MI New York put up a total of 155/8 in their 20 overs before bowling out the Los Angeles Knight Riders for just 50 runs.
In the other match of the day, the Washington Freedom put up “a clinical performance” to take down Texas Super Kings by six runs, MLC said. The Washington Freedom put up a total of 163/5 in their 20 overs before restricting the Texas Super Kings to 157/7. “Marco Jansen got Washington Freedom off to the perfect start with the ball when he bowled out Devon Conway in the very first over,” MLC said. Captain Faf du Plessis followed his opening partner after falling to Saurabh Netravalkar in the fourth over as the Super Kings found themselves in deep trouble at 21/2.
MATTHEW SHORT'S CRACKLING INNINGS HELPS WASHINGTON FREEDOM DEFEAT TEXAS SUPER KINGS ❤️🤍💙
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 17, 2023
✨ Matthew Short 80(50)
✨ DJ Bravo 76*(39)
Match Report ➡️ https://t.co/URqEYSwQ9Y pic.twitter.com/CU7mXfdlw3
One match was held on Saturday (July 15), where the Seattle Orcas registered a classy victory over the San Francisco Unicorns. Heinrich Klaasen played a fantastic innings of 53 off 31 balls to help the Orcas defeat the Unicorns by 35 runs. The Orcas posted 177/4 in their 20 overs before bowling out the San Francisco Unicorns for 142 runs within 18 overs.
The Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat first. The Orcas did not have the best start, losing the wicket of explosive opener Quinton de Kock (9) within the first two overs. Nauman Anwar and Shehan Jayasuriya steadied the ship with a partnership that saw them cross the 50-run mark within the first powerplay. However, Anwar’s (30) wicket fell right at the end of the first powerplay.
The Unicorns openers Matthew Wade and Finn Allen gave their team a solid start in the second innings. “Pakistani All-rounder Shadab Khan gave the Unicorns hope with a late counter-attack, but was not being supported from the other end,” MLC said. “He put in a valiant display but failed to drag the Unicorns across the line as his wicket in the 18th over guaranteed the Orcas their victory.”
The MLC league, which launched on July 13, has “further enhanced the broadcast offering through deals with the CBS Sports division of the CBS network and streaming service Sling TV,” SportsBusiness has reported. The matches have been streaming with subscription broadcaster Willow TV.