MLC 2023: How did the international players fare in Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Washington Freedom clash, Match 9?
The 9th match of the 2023 MLC edition featured Los Angeles Knight Riders and Washington Freedom and took place on July 21 IST. It was a good match for Washington, who bettered their chances of entering the eliminator phase following this win.
For the Los Angeles Knight Riders, it was the end of their road as they crash out of the inaugural edition with a single victory on the board.
Earlier, Washington Freedom won the toss and asked the Knight Riders to bat first. Despite a shaky start, the quickfire knocks of Rilee Rossouw (41 off 30) and Andre Russell (70 off 37) helped LAKR reach a respectable total of 175. Despite finishing on a high, the Los Angeles Knight Riders were not able to have the same impact with the ball.
Matthew Short (43 off 35) and Andries Gouss (40 off 15) got Washington off to a rollicking start which set the wheels in motion. Though Gous was dismissed in the sixth over, Short kept himself composed and took his team closer to victory.
Short's composure was well supported by cameos from Glenn Phillips (29 off 19) and Pienaar (26 off 17). In the end, Washington reached the target with 11 balls to spare and with six wickets in hand.
Here, we look at the performances of the international players in this match.
Jason Roy (LAKR)
Roy had an off-day with the bat as he could only score 7 runs in 10 deliveries before being dismissed by Netravalkar. He was the first Los Angeles batter to depart through an LBW dismissal during the fourth over of the first innings.
He missed a straight ball from Netravalkar which darted in from a good length and trapped him in front of the stumps.
Rilee Rossouw (LAKR)
Rossouw made a useful contribution of 41 (30) which comprised 4 sixes and was played at a strike rate of 136.6. He supported Russell at the other end as the duo stitched an 86-run stand between them to lift their side to a respectable first innings total of 175. He eventually perished to Jansen during the 19th over after giving a catch to Nortje at long-on.
Andre Russell (LAKR)
Russell did not have a go with the ball but he certainly had a go with the bat. The crowd became witness to a typical Russell knock as he blasted his way to a quickfire cameo of 70* in 37 balls. His blistering knock featured 6 fours and 6 sixes and helped the Knight Riders post a challenging target.
Sunil Narine (LAKR)
Narine had a forgettable day with the bat as he was dismissed on a duck. He perished on the second delivery that he faced from Marco Jansen while trying to up the ante.
However, with the ball, he bowled a tight spell of 1/20 in his allotted overs and did not concede a single boundary. But his sole effort wasn’t going to be enough as the rest of the bowling unit proved to be highly ineffective.
Adam Zampa (LAKR)
Zampa faced only one ball while batting and scored just a single. He did have a major role to play with the ball. The leg-spinner picked up the prize wicket of Glenn Phillips during the 14th over of the match to stem the flow of runs.
However, he conceded a few runs in the backend of his spell and finished with figures of 1/36 in his allotted four overs.
Glenn Phillips (SFU)
Phillips made a promising start to his innings but couldn’t go on to score a big one. He made a rapid 29 (19) which included 1 four and 2 sixes. He succumbed to Zampa in the 14th over as he miscued a pull shot and found the fielder at long-on.
Moises Henriques (SFU)
Moises will be pleased with his all-round performance. Earlier in the day, he finished with figures of 3/26 at an economy rate of 8.66 RPO, which included wickets of Nitesh Kumar, Corne Dry, and Unmukt Chand. And later, with the bat, he scored an unbeaten 16 *(12) to get his side comfortably over the finishing line.
Marco Jansen (SFU)
Jansen did not get to bat thanks to the strong batting effort from Washington. He delivered a robust spell of 2/29 which involved prize wickets of Rossouw and Narine. He bowled 14 dots and only conceded 2 boundaries.
Akeal Hosein (SFU)
Akeal was slightly on the expensive side, conceding 37 runs in 3 overs while going at well over 12 RPO. he conceded 5 sixes in his spell and picked up the solitary wicket of Jaskaran Malhotra during the 11th over of the second innings.
Dane Piedt (SFU)
The former South African spin-bowling all-rounder had a very minor role to play in the grand scheme of things. He could only bowl two overs and conceded just 8 runs while going wicketless. His spell featured 7 dots and just a single boundary.
Anrich Nortje (SFU)
Nortje returned wicketless in this game. He conceded 31 runs at an economy rate of 7.75 RPO, which included 12 dots. He did pick up a fine catch of Jansen's bowling at long-on, which led to the dismissal of his countryman Rossouw during the backend of the LAKR innings.
Note: Domestic players playing for the USA team have not been featured in the article