MLC 2023: How did the international players fare in MI New York vs Seattle Orcas, Match 15?
The 15th match of the inaugural MLC edition got underway between MI New York and Seattle Orcas on July 26. It turned out to be a high-scoring thriller, which saw Seattle Orcas walk away with a narrow victory by two wickets.
MI New York ended up with 194, which was in large part down to Pooran. He came out to bat inside the powerplay and dominated the first six overs, racing away to 33 off 10 balls at one stage. His onslaught continued in the middle overs too and when he was at the crease along with Pollard, 200 seemed to be on the cards.
However, they lost a bit of momentum thereafter but right at the end, Boult smashed two sixes and a four in a six-ball cameo to take MINY up to 194, which is a good score to have on this surface.
Orcas got off to a wobbly start losing their top two for just 37 inside the powerplay overs. Then Klaasen walked out to bat and he produced one of the best T20 innings to power his side to the Qualifiers. He took his time initially, but took matters into his own hands, dispatching the bowlers to all parts. He also ransacked 26 runs in the 17th over off Rashid which proved to be the deciding factor in today’s fixture.
On that note, let's take a close look at how the international starts fared in the 15th match of the MLC edition.
Nicholas Pooran (MINY)
Pooran once again delivered with the bat by scoring a gritty 68 (34) at an explosive strike rate of 200. His swashbuckling innings kept the MINY run engine up and running through the middle overs. He smashed three fours and seven sixes in his entire innings. His stay came to an end during the 13th when Imad Wasim removed him by deceiving him with a loopy ball outside off the stump line.
Hammad Azam (MINY)
Azam could not get going as he was dismissed for a paltry score of 2 (5) after being run out after a horrible mix-up with Pooran during the seventh over.
Kieron Pollard (MINY)
Pollard played a quickfire innings of 34 (18) which involved a four and three sixes. He was dismissed by Harmeet Singh during the 13th over while trying to up the ante. Besides, he bowled only a solitary over which cost him 12 runs while going wicketless.
Tim David (MINY)
David got a decent start but was unable to push on any further. He could muster only 18 runs off 16 balls which included a four and a six. Harmeet Singh eventually cleaned him up during the bag end of the innings.
David Wiese (MINY)
Wiese made a handy contribution low down the order scoring a lightning 19 (13) before getting run out by Hayden Walsh during the penultimate over. He proved to be very expensive with the ball going at almost 12 RPO with only 1 wicket to his name.
Rashid Khan (MINY)
Khan was dismissed cheaply for 2 (4) after holing out to Gannon during the 19th over. He was quite disappointing with the ball as per his standards as he leaked runs at almost 10 RPO with only two wickets of Jayasuriya and de Kock to his name.
Trent Boult (MINY)
Boult made a very unexpected contribution with the bat today scoring a mammoth 20 in the last over of the first innings which powered MINY to a competitive target of 194. He was brilliant with the ball too picking up 4/31 in his allotted four overs.
Quinton de Kock (SEO)
De Kock was the first Orcas wicket to fall. He was dismissed by Rashid Khan on 9 (10) after being stuck plumb in front of the stumps. He only hit a solitary six in his entire innings.
Shehan Jayasuriya (SEO)
Shehan failed to open his account and could only last five balls. He was trapped in front of the stumps by Rashid Khan who deceived him with a well disguised leg break.
Heinrich Klaasen (SEO)
Heinrich scored more than 60% of Seattle’s runs and played a match-winning knock of 110* (44).
His brutal power-hitting flattened the MI Bowlers and helped Orcas keep up with the required run rate during the middle phases of the game. He amassed nine fours and seven sixes in his entire innings.
Dasun Shanaka (SEO)
Shanaka had a poor outing both with the bat and with the ball. He conceded 23 of his two overs while going wicketless. Later on with the bat, he could only add 10 runs in 12 balls before being knocked over by Wiese during the 17th over.
Dwaine Pretorius (SEO)
Pretorious had an off day with the bat and the ball. His two overs cost 24 runs while his wickets column ran completely dry. He showed no intent with the bat either and was dismissed for 2(3) by Boult during the 18th over.
Imad Wasim (SEO)
Imad was very economical with the ball upfront. In his allotted 4 overs, he only went for 5.75 RPO and also managed to remove Monak Patel and Nicholas Pooran which helped Seattle apply the breaks on MI New York’s scoring rate. But he had a shocking outing with the ball as he was dismissed on a golden duck by Boult during the 18th over of the second innings.
Andrew Tye (SEO)
Tye went all over the park and leaked 55 runs in his four-over spell. He could only pick up the sole wicket of Shayan Jahangir at the expense of five fours and four sixes. He scored an unbeaten 4*(4) at the end of the second innings to get his side over the line in a tense run chase.
Note: Domestic players playing for the USA team have been excluded from this article