MLC 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Washington Freedom vs San Francisco Unicorns, Match 11
The 11th match of the 2023 MLC edition featured Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns, on July 23. Church Street Park hosted this thrilling game. It was a day that thoroughly belonged to the bowlers. A total of 18 wickets fell and only 236 runs were scored in two completed innings.
Washington Freedom put up a disappointing batting effort in the first innings. After a positive start with Gous, it all started to fall apart. Matthew Short was run out in a comical fashion as the wickets started to tumble. Haris Rauf, Marcus Stoinis, and Liam Plunkett were excellent as they inflicted the bulk of the damage with the ball as the pitch began to slow down.
Some late hitting at the back end of the innings from Dane Piedt (12 off 10) and Marco Jansen (19 off 15) got them to a less-than-competitive total of 133.
After coming out looking to chase down a relatively below-par total, the Unicorns were never really in it. They lost the wicket of Finn Allen early, before Saurabh Netravalkar knocked out the stumps of Stoinis and Shadab Khan.
Aaron Finch and Corey Anderson tried to get a partnership going in the middle but were both average with the bat, costing their team valuable dots balls and missed scoring opportunities.
Eventually, it was Netravalker who finished with jaw-dropping figures of 6/9. His devastating spell tore the Unicorns' batting lineup apart, skittling them out for just 103.
Following the conclusion of this fixture, Washington Freedom have moved ahead in the points table and acquired the second position. They now have 3 wins in 4 games with a healthy NRR of 0.575.
San Francisco have slipped to the fourth position with a dismal NRR of 0.275. They will need to win their last match to stay afloat in this tournament.
Saurabh Netravalker’s 6/9 stuns San Francisco Unicorns
Washington Freedom were never allowed to settle, first by a superb spell from Haris Rauf and then later by Stoinis and Plunkett. The surface was slow and sluggish and runs were hard to come by in the initial overs.
Moises Henriques and Obus Pienaar stitched a 40-run stand to help them recover from 33/4, but wickets kept tumbling from time to time.
Piedt and Marco Jansen played some lusty shots in the back end of the innings to ensure that Washington finished above 130. Haris Rauf claimed 3/20 in his four overs while Plunkett returned impressive figures of 2/24. A solitary wicket for Stoinis as well who bowled four overs and conceded only 23 runs.
Not many would've fancied Washington to defend 133, but they did it in style. Netravalkar set wheels in motion with a superb exhibition of seam bowling in the batting powerplay. He was primarily responsible for removing the engine room of the Unicorns' batting unit that featured Stoinis, Shadab, and Matthew Wade.
With the top order sent packing, the rest of the bowling unit kept up with their discipline and were aided by some superb catching, especially by Glenn Phillips. Corey Anderson tried to turn things over with 35, but with no support from the other end, San Francisco collapsed for just 103.
The Unicorns were bitterly disappointing with the bat. Their batting unit failed to fire chasing a low total and the team now finds themselves on the brink of elimination. Netravalkar emerged as the hero for Washington Freedom as he finished with 6/9 from 3.5 overs, which obliterated the Unicorns’ batting lineup.